Nanoha Takamachi and the Horrors of Ineptitude
by Silent-Scream84
Summary: When the TSAB discovers the Wizarding World, Nanoha and Fate are sent to investigate. What will they learn about the HP universe and about themselves as they attend Hogwarts? Set during Order of The Phoenix. NanoFate. Reviews greatly appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of either the Harry Potter or Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha franchises.

August 30, 1995 (Midchilda calendar year 71)

Nanoha gazed fondly down at her home planet, visible just out the main viewport of the TSAB cruiser Asura. She smiled wistfully before returning her attention to the information being displayed on the screen in front of her. Earth had avoided serious attention from the TSAB since its discovery owing to the apparent lack of magically talented individuals, an observation recently proven to be false. The discovery of a magical community on Earth had been completely coincidental. Former Admiral Gil Graham had returned to England for his exile and had been out of communication with the Bureau for years until Aria, one of his familiars, had run across an anomaly in King's Cross train station.

One of the columns was a disguised dimensional transference device, leading to what according the the briefing, was assumed to be some sort of dimensional overlay, the locations overlapping those in the real world but existing half a step apart. The discovery had occurred shortly after an unexplained dimension quake in the area, and so the top brass had taken interest. Nanoha frowned slightly as she re-read her orders. She was to investigate the station and report back as much information as possible. Enter and investigate the wizarding world if possible, and not divulge any information about who she was working for. Fate would remain on the ship as backup. The orders were simple enough, but Nanoha was not an intelligence operative, nor was she a native English speaker.

When she had questioned her selection as an agent, she had been informed that as the only available mages in the bureau who had grown up on Earth, she and Fate would have the easiest time blending in. She grudgingly admitted to herself that they were probably right. A world where magic and magical technology were completely unknown to the common people would be completely alien to almost all of the Bureau's field personnel. Earth's level of culture and technology, likewise would be difficult to adjust to. Hayate, working furiously to put together her own unit, had been unable to get free of her other duties.

"Nanoha, are you sure you'll be alright going down there alone?" asked Fate, her expression worried. Ever since Nanoha had been injured on her mission with Vita, Fate had become even more protective of her friend. Nanoha wished that she wouldn't worry so much, the distraction had probably led to Fate's two failures of the enforcer exam before she'd finally managed to pass a bit more than a year ago.

"Yes, Fate-chan, I should be fine. I'm only doing a little sight seeing for now, right? Besides," she went on as she took Fate's hand in her own, "nothing bad can happen while Fate-chan is watching over me, right?"

Fate blushed and stammered, "Na-Na-Nanoha!"

"Ahaha," Nanoha laughed as she released Fate's hand and made her way to the back of the bridge, where the teleporter was. She exchanged a mischevious smile with Amy as she passed her station. She looked back over her shoulder and smiled at the still flustered Fate as she stepped into the ship's teleporter and emerged, moments later in a vacant bathroom stall in King's Cross station.

Quickly going through the motions of washing her hands, she walked out of the bathroom as calmly as she could and looked around, trying to figure out where she was in relation to platforms 9 or 10. It took a few minutes of walking around to find a wall map to use as a reference and only a few more from there to find the platform she wanted. She placed a hand up against the wall which had been determined to be false and reached out with her magic. She could feel that there was a barrier there, set to bar humans without prior knowledge of its existence from entering. Bracing herself, she pushed, and found that she easily passed through the wall.

On the other side of the wall, she found what seemed to be a completely deserted copy of the platform she had just been standing on. The area had a quaint feeling about it, though it was a massive structure, it was constructed primarily of brick. A gilt sign hanging off the wall designated this area as, "Platform 9 ¾." She quickly scanned the area and didn't sense any other people present in the platform area. "Raising Heart," she whispered, "are you picking up any other people in the area?"

"There are two people my master," replied Raising Heart as a small map of the area was projected, two glowing dots in an upper level office on the other side of the station representing the two detected individuals. Nanoha relaxed a little.

She quickly secreted herself behind a support column and attempted to contact the Asura. It was taking longer than normal to get a response from the ship, and Nanoha began to worry after a few seconds. It took almost a minute before she heard Fate's voice in her head, fuzzy at first but quickly becoming clearer. [...noha, stay where...are...tracing your...cation now. Okay, I think that should do it. It looks like our guess was correct and you're presently in a dimensional overlay overlapping with the normal world. We have your dimensional coordinates now, so you can call us in at any time if you need backup.]

[Thank you, Fate. Can you give me any more information?]

[It seems that there is another entry point nearby in London. It looks like the entrance goes through some sort of inn and exits into a market place or village of sorts. I'll upload the location to Raising Heart. Chrono thinks you should head there next.]

[Okay, thanks Fate-chan. Nanoha out.] Nanoha closed the mental connection and resolutely walked back out through the wall she had entered from. It was a walk of a little more than two miles to the pub that Raising Heart directed her to. As she looked at the building, Nanoha noticed something strange. It looked almost as though a holographic image of a decrepit storefront were being projected over the building's real facade. A battered looking sign identified the pub as "The Leaky Cauldron". Glancing around at passers by, she noticed that not a single individual seemed to pay the building any mind, and seemed instead to gravitate away from the entrance way without realizing it.

[What can you tell about the people inside?] she thought to Fate.

[There are a dozen or so people inside, all of them have some degree of magical ability. I think only one of them is higher than rank C, the rest seem to be pretty weak.] Nanoha considered this for a moment and, deciding that there was likely to be no danger inside, she opened the door and entered the building. The inside of the building was larger than she would have guessed based on the external appearance. The door opened into a bar area which was homey though a bit on the shabby side. The bar had the same quaint feel as the platform had earlier. The furnishings were all wood and the lighting seemed to come from candles and oil lamps rather than electric lights. All eyes in the bar gradually shifted toward her and conversations suddenly died as she shut the door behind her.

People began standing and reaching into their robes until an older man sitting at the bar rather loudly cleared his throat to get their attention and gestured for them to stand down. The atmosphere in the bar relaxed slightly, but Nanoha could tell she was still being watched, and the conversations now were hushed and suspicious. "Come here young lady, have a seat." The old man gestured for her to sit at the bar next to him. "I am Albus Dumbledore. Tell me, who are you and what brings you here?"

"My name is Nanoha Takamachi," she spoke slowly and deliberately, still unsure of herself despite assurances from one of the Infinity Librarians fluent in the language that her English was fine. "I am here on vacation. I have been traveling, visiting schools. I have always wanted to visit London." She noticed that Dumbledore was eyeing her a bit suspiciously.

"Your family let you visit a foreign country all alone? Forgive me for my presumption, but are you not a bit young to be visiting colleges? You appear to be no more than fifteen years of age."

Nanoha smiled in amusement, "I graduated early. My family trusts me to take care of myself," she replied.

"You are aware that the drinking age in England is 18, yes? Why walk into an old run-down looking pub such as this, it could be dangerous."

"I was curious. The front of the building had an interesting effect. Like a hologram being projected over it. Like I said before, I can take care of myself."

"You were able to see both facades at once?" his expression seemed to be genuinely surprised. He was silent for a moment, contemplation plain on his face as he looked her over. Her musculature, posture, and the way her eyes never kept still, constantly scanning her surroundings seemed to back her claims of defensive competency. Perhaps too much defensive competency, he thought. Despite her age, she carried herself like a soldier of some kind. Still, as her muggle clothing didn't cover her arms at all it was plain that she didn't carry a dark mark, and her personality seemed wrong for a death eater. She was a mystery, potentially a dangerous one, which Dumbledore quickly decided that he needed to solve. "Forgive me for my forwardness, but let me cut to the chase. Are you at all familiar with the use of magic?"

"What do you mean by magic? I have seen magic shows before. Are you a performer of some sort? Did you make the illusion outside?" She was playing innocent, allowing some of her native inquisitiveness to show through, and hoping that her accent would help to make up for her lack of acting ability.

"Ah, not exactly, no. As it so happens, I am the headmaster of a magic academy. What we teach is real magic. I can tell that you have ability, otherwise you would not have been able to find this place."

Nanoha did her best to look skeptical, "I do not wish to be rude, but are you feeling quite alright? I could see the building very plainly from the street."

The bar tender, who had been casually paying attention to their exchange interjected, "You best listen to him young lady. He knows what he's talking about." He then proceeded to float a tankard of pumpkin juice to the spot on the bar in front of her. Nanoha made some show of checking for strings or wires attached to the cup she'd been given and affected shock upon finding nothing there.

Dumbledore, amused by her reactions gave her his most grandfatherly look. "The illusion, as you called it, is an enchantment which hides this place from non-magical folk. As you are in town looking at schools anyway, would you be interested in visiting Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? We can provide you with a magical education second to none."

[Nanoha,] Fate's voice whispered in her head, [Chrono suggests accepting his offer to visit this school.] After a moment she added, [and ask if you can bring a friend with you. There's some sort of field preventing the ship's teleporters and communications from working in some places so I want to stay close by your location.]

[Okay, Fate. I'll see what I can do,] replied Nanoha, directing attention once again to Dumbledore. He didn't seem to notice her communication with Fate, and had resumed his questioning. Upon noticing his expectant look, she realized he was waiting for her response to a question, "I am sorry, could you please repeat yourself slower, my English is still not perfect."

"Of course, I was just asking if your family would miss you for the few days you're away, as electronic devices such as telephones do not function on school grounds," he said slowly, making sure to enunciate clearly.

"Oh, I understand. I do not think that it will be a problem. I will let them know that I will be out of touch for a little while and that there is nothing to be alarmed about. Can you tell me how long I am going to be away?"

"Around a week I should imagine, that would give you time to attend some classes and get a feel for the school. Should you choose to attend, the school year will conclude in the third week of June with one week vacations for Christmas and Easter.

Nanoha tried to look unsure, but she was having difficulty hiding her excitement at accomplishing one of her mission goals so easily. "Is it, I mean, is it safe?"

"Yes, Miss Takamachi, it is very safe. I can promise you that no harm will come to you while you are visiting. There is a bit of a journey however, so it will be a few days before you can return to London."

Nanoha felt that he was probably being truthful. "I guess I would be interested in visiting. I am here with a friend though. I should tell her that I am going to be going somewhere alone for a few days."

"Is your friend here looking at schools as well?"

"She says that she is, but I really think that she is more interested in going shopping and sightseeing."

[Hey, I heard that!] Fate exclaimed in her mind. Nanoha suppressed a laugh.

"Why don't you go fetch your friend and meet me back here for dinner in a few hours. I would be interested in seeing if she might also be a candidate."

Nanoha made light conversation for a few more minutes as she attempted to finish her pumpkin juice, before excusing herself politely and leaving the building. [Ne, Fate-chan,] she asked, [what did you make of that meeting?]

[Well, I think that you should think about taking an acting class if you want to continue doing spy work.]

[Critic. What could you tell about the people inside?]

[The magical signatures didn't change from outside. The old man you were speaking with was the most powerful one in there except for you. I'd estimate that he would be a C+ or B rank mage. The rest were all C or D rank. Sensors picked up a barrier of some type in the back of the building.]

[Where do you want to meet up?]

"Right here seems fine," someone whispered in her ear. Nanoha jumped and spun in surprise, only to find herself looking at Fate, who was suppressing laughter. "I'm sorry, the opportunity was too good to pass up."

"Mou...you scared me. So, what should we do until we're supposed to be back here for our dinner meeting?"

"Why, shopping and sightseeing of course."

Author's Note: I am very much aware that Nanoha's English speech sounds stilted and overly formal. Outside of a crash course from a military instructor, most of the conversational English she's heard has probably been from Raising Heart.

Also, I tried to set this up in as good a time frame as I could, but the discrepancy in the ages of the characters and the years the two series take place in was too great. So I'm bumping the Nanoha calendar back in time a little, just figure everything in MSLN and A's happened the same way, but with less cellular phone action.  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

It was evening when Nanoha and Fate returned together to the Leaky Cauldron. They entered laughing between one another and holding hands. Fate seemed to be more taken aback than Nanoha had been at the decor and complete lack of modern technology or stylings within the building. It only took a moment to locate where Dumbledore was waiting for them. He was seated near the end of one of the long tables running the length of the bar, a pair of place settings awaiting the two girls across the table from him. Nanoha and Fate took their places at the table as Dumbledore watched them with a knowing smile.

Once the two girls had situated themselves, Dumbledore spoke up, "Good evening young lady," he addressed Fate, "as I am sure your friend has told you, I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am sure that you must have questions for me."

"Thank you, headmaster. I am Fate Testarossa Harlaown. I am curious about the nature of your magic. Nanoha has told me that it's not just tricks, but she sometimes exaggerates things." She grinned at the annoyed expression Nanoha shot her. "I am intrigued by your invitation, but I cannot say that I am sure that I believe your claims." Fate tried to play off the conversation as naturally as she could through her accent, but had to admit to herself that she wasn't much better of an actress than Nanoha.

"Oh, I quite understand your misgivings. We go through no small amount of trouble to keep ourselves hidden from the muggle world." At Fate's questioning expression he explained, "'Muggle,' is the word which we use to refer to non-magical folk. Let us continue over dinner though, shall we?" he asked rhetorically as he waved his wand and food of types unfamiliar to either girl suddenly appeared on their plates. Fate and Nanoha both affected a bit of exagerated shock, though they were both honesty surprised at the application of magic.

"Wow, that was amazing!" exclaimed Fate. "What else can you do?" she asked, her voice overflowing with exuberance. She jumped slightly as Nanoha pinched her leg under the table.

[Fate-chan,] Nanoha gently chastised her, [you're overdoing it.]

"Is something wrong ladies?" Dumbledore asked, noticing that some sort of exchange had happened.

"Nyahaha, nothing is wrong. My friend gets overly excited sometimes."

They continued their meal, making light conversation while Dumbledore demonstrated some simple charms and transfigurations while answering any questions the pair had. His efforts to explore the history of the two girls didn't seem to turn up anything out of the ordinary, though he was sure that his earlier assessment of Nanoha must have been correct. She and Fate both carried themselves in a similar way, and both showed similar signs of intense physical training. The faded scars on both, more noticeable now with the candle light than they had been during the day, spoke of battle experience.

[It's interesting, isn't it Fate?] thought Nanoha during a lull in the conversation while Headmaster Dumbledore was obviously sizing them up. [Their magic doesn't seem to be as powerful as ours, but it is much more versatile.]

[Yes, I'd noticed the same thing. It seems that their spell mechanics are much simpler than ours, so they don't need sentient devices and they can cast quickly and repeatedly. I'm sure there must be more powerful spells than these ones though.]

Dumbledore answered all of their questions easily as conversation picked back up, surprising both of them when he informed them that there was no cost to attend the school other than the cost of school supplies. The justification being that untrained people with magical ability might become a danger to themselves and others. It was, reflected Nanoha, a reasonable measure, and probably the same reason that the TSAB allowed nine year old girls to work as contract mages. He gave a brief description of the history of the Wizarding World and of Hogwarts, which Nanoha made sure that Raising Heart was recording, and skirted around their questions about how certain locations in the two worlds overlapped.

As they finished eating, which didn't take very long owing to the impact of the relatively heavy English food on the girls' stomachs, Dumbledore gestured once again, clearing all of the plates. He gestured to Tom, the owner and firmly rebuffed Nanoha and Fate's attempts to help pay for the meal. "Now then, would you two be interested in visiting our school?" After the girls answered to the affirmative he went on, "Very well, you can either make the trip tomorrow with me, or on the train with the rest of our students in two days from now. It will leave from King's Cross Station at 11 a.m. sharp. I will not be able to meet you there, but I will send one of our professors in my stead.

"I think it would be nice to take the train and meet some of the students," replied Nanoha. [Not to mention it will give us a chance to get a feel for the society here for a day or two before we go,] she thought at Fate.

[Yes, that's probably the best plan, though I can't imagine that these people won't have anyone watching us. We'll need to be a bit cautious about communicating with the ship and doing our research.]

"Excuse me Professor," asked Fate, "will we need to bring any special supplies with us?"

"Yes, if you would like to try to participate in classes. You will be observing younger children than yourselves, as people normally begin magic school at ten or eleven years of age. I am sure we can work around your delayed start though, should you choose to attend." He reached into his sleeve and pulled out two folded pieces of parchment and handed one to each of the girls. "In these you will find lists of materials, as well as a ticket for the train. If you would like, I can take you shopping for some supplies now before all the shops in Diagon Alley close for the night."

Nanoha and Fate both opened their letters, carefully removing their tickets and scanning the list of supplies and the the letter of acceptance into the school. Nanoha finished reading first and spoke, "Yes, it would be most helpful if you could guide us. I do not know where we would find any of these items."

"Well then, if you are ready," he said, getting to his feet. The girls quickly stood and followed him out the back door of the tavern into a small walled in yard. Both watched closely as Dumbledore tapped a number of bricks in order and a doorway opened through the bricks. "After you," said Dumbledore as he gestured Nanoha and Fate through the archway. The area they passed into was bustling with activity. Nanoha looked about in amazement, spinning on her heel. Families quickly walked in various directions probably, thought Nanoha, doing last minute school shopping. There were sporadic causal demonstrations of magic, usually a parent levitating a dropped text book, or roping in a wandering child.

"If you'll follow me, we will start by going to Gringots to exchange some of your money for our currency. Then we'll be getting robes for the both of you. We can forgo the textbooks for now, until we know that you need them as they are the most expensive items. You may borrow copies or look on with your classmates while you are visiting." The shopping for robes, cauldrons, quill pens, and other miscellaneous items progressed rapidly until finally the group reached their final stop. A worn looking sign on the building identified it as Ollivander's.

The sign on the door indicated that the shop had closed just a few minutes earlier, and the shop keeper was bustling about inside, carrying armloads of long boxes. Dumbledore knocked on the door, and an elderly man, who Nanoha and Fate assumed was Ollivander, opened the door for them. "I'm very sorry to disturb you after your normal hours," began Dumbledore, "but we have a bit of a unique situation here. These girls are from overseas, apparently in an area not covered by one of the other magic academies. I found them when one of them managed to walk into the Leaky Cauldron."

Ollivander's eyes lit up, "Well, come in then, come in. It has been quite some time since I've had to fit a wand for an older student. He pulled a tape measure from his belt and went to Nanoha first. He quickly measured the length of her arm and circumference of her wrist, then dashed off to grab a batch of boxes. Opening the first one, he pulled out a short, tapered wand and placed it in Nanoha's hand. "Cherry, with a Unicorn hair core, nine and a half inches. Give it a wave young lady, see if it fits." Nanoha flicked the wand at the wall opposite where the group was standing. A vase on a pedestal flew off its stand and shattered on the floor. "Not to worry, young miss. Happens all the time," said Olivander at Nanoha's crestfallen expression. He pulled the first wand from her hand and gave her another. "Holly, with Dragon heartstring, eleven inches. Give it a try." Nanoha waved the wand and achieved a similarly disastrous result to her first attempt.

Ollivander was beginning to get excited. He seemed almost to fly from shelf to shelf as he pulled wand after wand for Nanoha to try. After half an hour, the inside of the store was in shambles. Wand boxes lay strewn about haphazardly, and the wall at which Nanoha had been aiming had been stripped down to bare brick. Ollivander seemed thrilled with the challenge, and ducked under the counter to pull out a very old looking chest. "Perhaps something more exotic would suit you, I picked up these wands all over the world while traveling. He carefully sorted through the boxes until he found what he was looking for. "Amboyna Burl, eleven and a half inches with a cat sidhe whisker core." Nanoha gave this one a wave and actually managed to blast a decent sized hole through the brick wall. "Hmm, no, I think not." Olivander once again rifled through the chest and pulled out another box. "Pink Ivory, with fur from a nine tailed fox, twelve and a half inches," he said as he handed over the curiously colored piece of wood.

As Nanoha's hand closed around the wand's handle she felt a sensation similar to that of activating Raising Heart flood through her. The wand, already a bright pink color marbled with white, was glowing softly. She waved the wand leaving a tracery of pink lines glowing in the air where the tip had traveled, which sparkled as they vanished. Olivander smiled, "It looks like we've finally struck a match." He once again pulled out his measuring tape as he turned his attention to Fate. The blonde girl had a much quicker time than her friend, hitting it on the third attempt with an ebony wand with a Phoenix feather core. Lightning crackled from the tip of her wand as she traced it through the air, intermingling jagged yellow lines with Nanoha's sparkling pink ones.

The two replaced their wands in their boxes and quickly paid for their purchases, leaving Olivander to clean his shop. Nanoha looked over her shoulder as they exited the store to see the nearly destroyed wall gradually repairing itself almost as though it were healing. She found herself stifling a yawn as Fate's fingers once again entwined with her own while they walked. The group came to a stop again in the courtyard behind the Leaky Cauldron. "I am afraid I must leave you two for now," stated Dumbledore as the wall once again closed behind them, "I have some more business to attend to tonight. If you would prefer not to travel back to your hotel, Tom has some rooms upstairs which you can rent for the night." He smiled at the two girls, "Please be here at ten o'clock two days from now, one of the professors will be waiting here for you. I will see you when you arrive at school." The two girls wished him farewell and he quickly disapparated, leaving them alone in the courtyard.

"That was an interesting dimensional transfer spell," said Nanoha, reverting to speaking Japanese and probing the spot Dumbledore had just been standing in with the toe of her shoe, "a bit imprecise though. If I'm reading the magical signature correctly, you could accidentally manage to leave part of yourself behind if you're not concentrating hard enough."

Fate shuddered as she imagined that, "Still," she replied, "it takes a lot less energy than one of our dimensional transfer spells." She thought for a moment, "It's probably all they can manage without using intelligent devices. Dimensional transfer is fairly complicated without a device to sort out all of the mechanics." She was about to ask Nanoha what she thought the range of the spell was when they were interrupted by a transmission from the ship.

[I see you've managed to make it back alive and with a minimum of property damage,] came Chrono's voice in both of their heads. [Did you two have fun on your date?]

[Oh yes, we had a wonderful time,] replied Nanoha, pulling Fate close and grinning a bit as she watched her flush bright red. [We even got something for you while we were shopping. I'll show you when we get back to the ship.] The two girls laughed softly between recalling the packages of bizarrely named sweets now residing in Fate's bag.

"So should we go back to the ship now, or do you want to spend the night here?" asked Nanoha.

"Let's spend the night here. I'm sure we'll be monitored, and we don't want to draw more suspicion by vanishing and reappearing too often."

"Okay then, we'll buy some books and news papers tomorrow morning and go back to the ship to do our research. It'll be easier when we can use the ship's computers to scan and cross reference everything anyway, and I'm sure Shari would like to take a look at these wands."

The two walked back into the Leaky Cauldron and, after paying, were directed up a staircase to the side of the bar. The room they were assigned was much nicer than the bar downstairs would have led either of them to expect. The bed was a large four-post affair with a canopy, and the furniture was all made of polished hard wood. A cheery fire burned in the hearth, though there was no sign of any more wood stacked in the room to keep the fire going through the night.

[Ne, Fate-chan,] thought Nanoha as the two changed for bed. [What do you make of the technological level here?]

[It's weird. Even though regular society here is far behind Midchilda technologically, these people seem to be intentionally insulating themselves from technological advancements. It's not without precedent, but it seems...almost exagerated here. I'm sure we'll find out more if we can get some history books tomorrow...] Fate trailed off as she stared blankly at the oil lamp situated on the bedstand next to her.

Nanoha grinned and reached over, turning the little knob to lower the wick and dim the lamp. Interestingly, the fire in the grate seemed to read her intention and dimmed itself as well. Squirming her way under the covers she snuggled up against Fate, "Fate-chan, oyasumi."

"Oyasumi," replied Fate, whispering in Nanoha's ear before kissing her softly on the cheek and closing her eyes. Nanoha sighed contentedly, and even without looking, Fate could see the satisfied grin spreading across her girlfriend's face.

***

Headmaster Dumbledore sat for a moment in his office and considered his next course of action. The two girls must be members of some type of organization, but what did they want, and why were they here? It was bad enough that the ministry was passing legislation to start interfering with the school while at the same time denying the return of Lord Voldemort, but now it seemed some mysterious third party had appeared. Dumbledore quickly decided that he needed to find out who those two girls really were and who they were working for, and he needed to know very quickly.

Grabbing a piece of parchment and a quill, he started writing.

Minerva,

Please meet me tomorrow at nine o'clock at The Three Broomsticks. Urgent business to take care of.

~ Albus

He quickly rolled the letter and gave it to Fawkes to make sure it would reach its destination securely. He looked up at the ceiling of his office and sighed, this was a complication that he really did not need at the moment. He dared to hope that whoever these two girls were, whoever they were working for, they would not bring more power down on the side of the ministry or Lord Voldemort.


	3. Chapter 3

Nanoha woke early, as was her custom now and carefully extracted herself from Fate's embrace. She stretched languidly and did what parts of her morning calisthenics routine she could manage without making too much noise. Fully awake after her light workout, she grabbed a change of clothes and went to the bathroom to take a shower. Fate was awake and running through her own set of exercises when Nanoha exited the bathroom, clad in the same knee length skirt and loose short sleeve shirt she'd worn the previous day. Fate glanced at her quickly before finishing her set of pushups and standing. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I was pretty tired after trying out all of those wands yesterday. Of course, it could have been all the running around and shopping too. How many people did we have to buy souvenirs for?"

"Twenty seven. My last paycheck is now but a memory," replied Fate, a bit mournfully. "So what's on the agenda for today?"

Nanoha tapped her chin thoughtfully, "After breakfast we'll head back out to Diagon Alley, pick up all of the text books on the first year reading list and whatever else we can find that looks relevant. We'll need to pick up some periodicals as well, to get a feel for what's blowing in the wind currently. Then we'll head back up to the ship to do our research."

"Alright. I'll take a shower and then we can head down for breakfast." Fate left for the bathroom and Nanoha headed downstairs to stake their claim on one of the tables. She ordered for both herself and Fate and was sipping on her tea and waiting for the food to arrive when she was joined by her friend.

"That was a quick shower," stated Nanoha blandly as Fate approached the table.

"I get the feeling that I'm going to miss having a furo while we're here," Fate said grumpily as she sat ungracefully in the seat Nanoha had saved for her.

"Just think of it as a deployment. I don't think that any of the ships in the fleet have one, except maybe in the captain's quarters."

"True, but there's a reason for it in that case. I get the feeling I know why Europe had a bigger problem with disease in the middle ages than Japan did," murmured Fate into her tea. She winced slightly and made a face as she took a sip.

"Ahaha, now Fate-chan, be nice," scolded Nanoha jokingly. She pushed a sugar bowl and small container of milk toward her friend. "They drink black tea here, you should use the milk and sugar. That's probably where Lindy-san got the idea."

Fate was still experimenting with the milk and sugar and Nanoha was flipping through what looked to be a tabloid paper called "The Quibbler" when their meal arrived a few minutes later. A steaming plate loaded with eggs, bacon, pancakes, and sausage was laid out on the table before each of them. "Nanoha, are you trying to fatten me up or something?"

"I just ordered what they called an, 'English Breakfast' on the menu," replied Nanoha, her expression slightly dismayed. "If the food at school is like this every day maybe I can try to get my family to send some rice and nori for us."

"No natto?" inquired Fate, supressing a smile.

"No. No natto." Nanoha replied quite firmly, giving Fate a friendly kick under the table. She froze suddenly, as she flipped through her news paper. Curious, Fate stood and leaned over to see what article Nanoha was reading. A bold headline declared, "Mysterious Objects Sighted in Diagon Alley! What Are They, and What Do They Want?" Fate frowned as she noticed the picture under the headline and the reason Nanoha had fallen silent. Playing in a short video loop was an image of what could only be a gadget drone flying quickly down a street and then vanishing down an alley way.

"Well this changes things," said Fate soberly as she reseated herself. "If there are gadgets around we may need to intervene. It also means that there must be lost logia around to draw them here."

Nanoha nodded as she read through the rest of the article. It was, she noticed, definitely written like a tabloid and there was very little real information provided. There were theories of government conspiracies and muggle spy technology, but no specifics regarding the time or location of the sighting. The photo offered little help, the image was slightly out of focus and blurred as it followed the movement of the drone so that the surrounding storefronts could not be identified. Fate sipped her tea as she waited for her friend to finish reading. [Raising Heart,] thought Nanoha.

[Yes, my master?]

[Can you enhance this picture enough to read any of the signs on the shops?]

[I am sorry. I cannot do it.]

Nanoha let out a sigh of vexation, [Please forward copies to Shari and Amy then and see if one of them can do it with the ship's computers. Please ask them to hurry.]

[It will be done, my master.]

"Fate-chan, let's collect our research materials as soon as the shops open and get back to the ship. Maybe Shari will be able to figure out what these signs say before we have to get back to the ship. We need to send a request to high command for revised mission parameters."

They ate at a relaxed pace, Nanoha having noted the previous evening that most of the shops would not open for almost another hour, but finished quickly, the heavy foods being far more filling than they were accustomed to. They thanked and paid Tom at the bar, then made their way out the back door and into the small yard. It took them two tries to get the door way to open to them before they were able to set out on their way, followed unobtrusively by a grey and black striped tabby cat.

The pair quickly made their way to Flourish and Blotts, a book store they had passed the night before. They quickly found copies of all of the books that had been assigned on their list, and spent another half hour browsing for other books that looked interesting. Fate had come across a discarded copy of the fourth year student book list and picked up one of each of those as well. Both women quickly noticed that none of the texts had anything to do with non-magical history, science, or technology. They took a copy of each of the periodicals they could find before paying for their purchases and exiting once again into the bustling market place.

"Fate-chan, were there any other shops you wanted to visit?" asked Nanoha, turning to look at Fate over her shoulder and smiling winsomely.

Fate returned the smile and paused to think for a moment, looking around at the store fronts nearby to see if anything piqued her interest. There was a sweet shop nearby, but it looked like it hadn't opened yet, and the breakfast was still sitting heavily in her stomach. There was a broom shop, which she was curious about, but based on what she could see of the prices in the window the brooms weren't really impulse buy material. The owls, while cute would likely become cumbersome. "No, I guess not. I'm pretty well tapped out anyway," she said a bit mournfully.

Nanoha was about to suggest heading back to the ship when Raising Heart chimed. [Nanoha,] came Shari's voice in her head, [I've analyzed the image that you sent me. The quality was pretty bad, but the the sign on the store next to the alley way says something like, "Quality Quick Ditch Supplies."]

[That's great, thank you Shari. I think I know where to look now,] replied Nanoha before turning to Fate. "The sign in the picture said, 'Quality Quidditch Supplies.' I think we passed there on our way in, didn't we?"

"Yes, I believe we did," replied Fate after a moment's thought. "Do you want to head there now?" She received a nod in response and quickly matched pace with Nanoha as they set out toward what they hoped was the store in the picture. They found a small crowd staring in through the front window of the shop as the approached, but the group seemed not to be paying them or the alley next to the shop any mind. Fate nudged Nanoha gently, "It looks like something cut the corner a bit close there," she said, gesturing vaguely to the corner of one of the building opposite the Quidditch shop.

Nanoha approached the alley first and pretended to take a rest against the wall, running a finger along the scuffed, broken bricking along the building corner Fate had pointed at. [Fate-chan, I'll go in first, come in after me if I call for you,] she mentally instructed her friend as she ducked into the narrow alley, leaving no opportunity for Fate to argue. The alley was quite narrow, probably with barely enough clearance for the drone figured Nanoha, noting the scuff marks on both brick walls where the drone had flown too close. The alley turned sharply to the right, obscuring its end from her.

Walking as quietly as possible, Nanoha approached the corner and took a quick peek around it. There was no sign of the gadget drone. Feeling a little relieved, she stepped around the corner and assessed the area. The alley widened out a little back here and there were stacks of crates near some of the buildings' rear doors. She proceeded down the alley until it came to an abrupt end against the side wall of another building, deeper than the others. There were no signs of the gadget here. Deciding that it must have flown off after losing its pursuers Nanoha messaged Fate, [It looks like the drone probably flew off after going down the alley. There are no signs that it...] her thoughts were cut off as she turned around to see the drone dropping down to land in front of her, close enough to envelop her in its Anti Magilink Field.

Fate had been leaning up against the wall of the building next to the alley, weighed down now by both her and Nanoha's bags, when Nanoha's transmission was suddenly cut off mid sentence. After a cursory glance to make sure that nobody was paying too much attention, she jetted down the alley as quickly as she could go without using Bardiche. As she rounded the corner to find Nanoha dodging attacks from a single gadget drone. A magical circle unfolded on the ground around her as she summoned down a single bolt of lightning without even bothering to activate her device.

Nanoha could see what Fate was doing as soon as she arrived and managed to duck behind a stack of crates just as the gadget was struck down. A brilliant arc of electricity cored through the floating mechanical ovoid leaving molten holes at its top and bottom. The now useless hunk of machinery crashed to the alley floor, its lenses shattering as it impacted but thankfully not detonating. Before she could even pick herself up, Fate was there pulling her to her feet. "Nanoha! Are you alright?" she demanded, checking her for any visual wounds. Finding no obvious injuries, Fate pulled Nanoha into a tight embrace.

"I'm fine Fate-chan. Really, I'm alright. Thank you, you saved me again," Nanoha spoke softly to Fate, whose head was now resting on her shoulder. She heard Fate's shuddering intake of breath as her companion's shoulders quaked and felt a warm, wet spot spreading on her own shoulder. "Mou, please don't cry Fate-chan. Really, I'm fine."

"Dammit Nanoha!" Fate cried into Nanoha's shoulder, her hands balling into fists around the fabric of her shirt. "You're too reckless, always just running headlong into situations we don't know enough about." Her knees quaked under her, and she found herself being partially supported by Nanoha's embrace as she sobbed. "Don't you know how much I worry about you? I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

Nanoha gently stroked her girlfriend's hair with one hand while she supported her with the other. "I'm sorry Fate-chan. I don't mean to make you worried," she spoke in a soothing voice. "My superiors in the Instructor Corps tell me the same thing. I promise I'll be more careful for you. I don't want you to have to cry over me." She continued to soothe her friend for a few moments more before going on, "I'm sorry Fate-chan, we really need to go before anyone comes to investigate the explosion they heard."

Fate sniffled as she worked to compose herself. Though she had stopped her crying, her eyes were still red and puffy. Nanoha pulled a small packet of tissues from her purse and handed them to Fate who quickly dabbed at her eyes and blew her nose. "Did you mean it? Your promise I mean."

"Yes, I promise I'll be more careful from now on." She leaned in and kissed Fate lingeringly on the lips. Fate tried to hold on to her to deepen the kiss, but Nanoha gently, regretfully pulled away. "We'll have time for that later. We need to go now," she said, gesturing backward down the alley way where the sounds of tentative footsteps could be heard approaching the corner. [Amy,] she called out mentally, [we need immediate transfer to the ship. Set the transporter to pick up any metallic or plastic debris larger than a hundred grams within a two meter radius of my position.]

[Nanoha, I read you, initiating dimensional transfer in five seconds.] Nanoha took a glance at the magical geometry which had appeared to encircle them, making sure that most of the large wreckage left by the gadget would be taken along as well. Then, in a brilliant flash of white, she found herself and Fate back on the dimensional transfer platform on the Asura along with the still smoking remnants of the drone Fate had destroyed.

Amy stared open mouthed at the wreckage of the gadget, "What happened down there?"

"This mission just became a lot more complicated is what happened. Can you get Shari to come down here and see if you can get in touch with Mari at HQ, she might want to take a look at this." She shook her head as though to clear it for a moment before continuing, "Admiral Chrono, in light of this new information," she said gesturing at the remains of the gadget, "I would like to request updated mission parameters."

Chrono nodded, "Yes, if this was not an isolated incident we may need to intervene more directly. I expect that command will want you to try to hunt down whatever lost logia it is that attracted this gadget drone to the area. For now, hand over your books to the librarian so we can start getting their contents scanned into the computer and start reviewing those periodicals." Nanoha and Fate both saluted before leaving the bridge, burdened down with the bags containing their books and school supplies, to head to the ship's library.

***

Minerva McGonagall was one of the most experienced and educated witches in Europe, but she was left stunned by the display of magic she had just seen from the two mystery girls Professor Dumbledore had her tracking. She waited until she was sure that all of the people who had run back to investigate the sudden lightning strike had gone from the alley. "By Merlin's Beard," she murmured to herself as she returned to her human form and walked over to the place where the two girls had vanished a few minutes earlier, "what have you gotten us involved in, Albus?"

She searched the area for any trace of the strange machine that had been destroyed, but found nothing except a few useless scraps of glass. Unable to find any hint as to where the two girls had vanished to, she pulled out a scrap of parchment and quickly sketched out all that she could remember of the incredibly complicated magical circles they had been using. Quickly replacing the parchment, she disapparated, destined for the outskirts of Hogwarts, where she could get a report to Professor Dumbledore wherever he was...

***

Author's Note: Thank you everyone who has taken an interest in reading this story. Thanks to summer break and a massive storm, I've had the time over the last few days to post three chapters including this one. Unfortunately this pace isn't going to be practical to continue with between school and work. I will try to get a new chapter out every week or so though.

***

Thank you to all of you who reviewed the first two chapters of my story.

Privatesargent: Thank you for your input. I'm trying very hard to successfully reconcile to two magic styles. Subaru and Teana are taking the C to B rank test at the beginning of StrikerS, so I used their ability level at that point as sort of an index I could judge the lower mage rankings by. Based on what I've seen in the Nanoha sound stages, manga, and anime, I believe that the mage ranking system actually goes up following either an exponential curve or a very steep linear one. Dumbledore is generally recognized as the most powerful wizard in the Harry Potter continuity, so by placing him at C or C+ rank, I figure that there will be a select few wizards who are slightly less powerful, falling in the C- to D range, with the remainder of the wizarding population residing in the E to D- area. I figure a mage ranking of F would be equivalent to either a muggle or a first year student.

An Oni Mouse: Thanks for reading, I hope I manage to keep your attention.

CrazyLikeAnko: Thank you for your compliments. I already know how I'm going to handle the intelligent devices, based on a few obscure hints from the HP novels. I'll probably get to explaining it somewhere around chapter 5.

Ragnarok: The title actually comes from a discussion I had with my friends on a road trip, basically picking apart the terrible adult leadership throughout the Harry Potter series. I'm going to tone it down somewhat so as not to be too offensive to the HP fans. I intend on following a lot of the plot as written in the book, but from a different perspective. Harry will probably still get the lessons, but I don't know if I'll cover them at all. Thanks for the review

drinker: I know what you're saying and I agree with it fully. I've been out of writing for a while now, so it's taking me a bit to get back into my pace. Thanks for reviewing, I hope you enjoy what's yet to come.

SonicAnime2010: Honestly, the first chapter probably got past you because I posted it all of about 15 minutes before the second chapter. Nanoha continuity wise, this story takes place between chapters 3 and 4 of the StrikerS manga, so a few months after the airport fire where Nanoha rescues Subaru. Thanks for the review.

Guard-y nut: Thanks for your compliments, I hope you continue to enjoy the story.


	4. Chapter 4

Minerva McGonagall swept briskly into the Three Broomsticks, her foreboding expression keeping any potential casual greetings at bay. She made her way directly to a table near a back corner in the shadows. Dumbledore was waiting for her there, his eyes scanning the patrons of the bar for unfamiliar faces. She heard him mutter, "Muffliato," as she joined him at the table, and a quiet buzzing noise seemed to surround them. "I received your owl Minerva, what ever was so important that you needed to see me so soon?"

"Those two girls you had me following Albus, who are they?" she demanded, consternation plain upon her face. "They used a type of magic I have never seen before."

"I do not know with certainty who they are. I do suspect that they are acting as the forward members of some other organization and I would like to keep them close by, where we can keep an eye on them and intervene if we need to. Why don't you tell me what you saw?"

"Well, your hypothesis seems to fit what I observed. I followed them through Diagon Alley for most of the morning during which they visited a few of the shops, they seemed to be searching for periodicals and textbooks. I saw them pick up the texts for charms, potions, and transfiguration, as well as the history of magic books. They bought copies of the Prophet and the Quibbler as well."

"Their searching for texts and periodicals seems to support the idea that they are investigating us." He paused for a moment before continuing, "I'm afraid those periodicals may not give them the most positive view on our society."

"I wish I could say that I disagree. After they finished their shopping, they headed to an alleyway. The Quibbler had reported a mysterious sighting of some sort of machine there that seemed to grab their interest. The brunette entered the alley to investigate and was attacked by the machine described in the article. The blond one then rushed in to help her and destroyed the machine with lighting. The two girls then teleported away along with the remnants of the machine that had attacked them."

"She used a lightning spell?" Dumbledore asked, his expression carefully neutral.

"No, there was no incantation, and she did not use a wand. She simply called down a lightning strike from a slightly overcast sky."

"And then they disapparated?"

"No, it was not apparation. I am not sure what it was; some type of ritual magic, I think. A very complex magical circle manifested around them before they vanished. I wish that it had lasted longer, it was like nothing else I have seen before."

"How complex of a magical circle?"

"From what I could tell it was four dimensional. Two flat layers on top of each other and moving independently of one another. I couldn't discern most of the symbols before it vanished."

Dumbledore's expression became pensive, "I wonder if it would be a better idea to let them know what we saw and confront them directly about this? It might reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings later on if we can introduce them to our society like we do to the muggle students. It would let us have some amount of control over the direction of their research." He paused to think for a moment before continuing, "Did you notice anything else that could be useful?"

"Erm, yes actually," replied McGonagall who was, much to Dumbledore's amazement, flushing slightly, "the two girls seem to be, ehem, involved romantically."

Dumbledore mulled that over for a moment. He'd suspected as much from their behavior during their dinner the previous night. He didn't particularly care about it himself, but there was an old standing law forbidding same sex relationships in order to keep the population up. He quickly decided not to make an issue of it. A direct demonstration of homophobia would not make a good impression. While he could hypothetically use the fact to blackmail the two girls within the wizarding community, he would just as soon not go out of his way to anger them, particularly in light of Minerva's observation of their level of magical ability. He nodded to himself as he settled upon his decision and once again turned his attention to Professor McGonagall. "So, based on the complexity of that magical circle, you think they could be anywhere on Earth?"

"Albus, for all I know, they could be on the moon."

TSAB Cruiser Asura - Library  
>Lunar orbit<p>

Nanoha grumbled a little as she flipped through her copy of "The Daily Prophet." The paper was more well-written than the Quibbler had been, much more well written in fact, but still had a strong editorialized feel to it. For all the trust that Albus Dumbledore seemed to have earned according to the computer's condensed version of the history books they had found, the paper seemed very strongly critical of him for reasons which sounded rather trumped up in her opinion. An article about a new education decree deepened her consternation, "It looks like the Ministry of Magic is trying to make a power play of some sort. They're trying to gain more control over the educational system. This newspaper reads like a propaganda pamphlet."

Fate nodded glumly and mumbled a little in response, eliciting a frown from Nanoha. Since they had returned to the ship Fate had gone from quiet to sullen. She was avoiding eye contact and the fingers of her left hand had been nervously playing with the edge of the paper she had been reading, leaving it in tatters. Nanoha groaned to herself, while she wasn't as introverted as Fate she still found herself unsure in her relationship with her girlfriend. She'd pried some vague advice from Miyuki, her older sister, but not feeling brave enough yet to come out to her family, she had not been able to ask for more specific help.

Sighing, Nanoha stood up from where she was seated and walked around the table to embrace Fate loosely from behind. She rested her arms on the quiet blond woman's shoulders and let her hands clasp loosely in front of her. "Fate-chan, what's wrong? I can tell something's been bothering you since we got back to the ship. Are you worried that I won't keep my promise?"

Fate shook her head gently, the motion sending waves flowing through her long tresses. She leaned her head to the side a little to rest on Nanoha's forearm as her hands sought out her girlfriend's. "No. I know that you'll keep your word. You're too honest not to. It's just that...that...oh, i don't know how to say this. It's embarrassing to talk about." Nanoha could feel Fate flushing as she buried her face in Nanoha's sleeve.

"Mou, Fate-chan, you know I won't judge you," replied Nanoha, hugging her a bit more firmly.

Fate sighed and closed her eyes, trying to collect her thoughts. "I feel terrible admitting it," she started, "but I actually feel reluctant to go on this mission. I hate having to hide who we really are and," she she paused a moment, "I hate having to hide our relationship." The last few words left her in a rush. "I worry..." her voice trailed off.

Nanoha felt a pang of guilt. Even though she knew Fate was talking about their upcoming mission, she couldn't help but feel bad for not having had the courage to come out to her family yet. "Oh Fate-chan, you're such a good girl. You're allowed to be unhappy with parts of our missions you know. No one here is going to punish you for it, I mean, as long as you don't do anything too rash about it. I'm not too thrilled about this mission either. We're being placed in a situation where we have to blend in with what seems like an extremely prejudiced society and neither of us is really trained for this type of operation." She gave Fate a mischievous glance, "Not to mention I might not be able to keep my hands off of you for that long."

Fate blushed heavily and Nanoha hugged her a bit tighter. "I'm sure it won't be all that bad. We both know how to get around stealthily, and from what I've seen of their architecture so far there should be plenty of dark corners and hidden rooms that we can use if we start feeling too lonely. Besides, I got the feeling that Dumbledore may already suspect and he didn't really seem to care."

Nanoha released Fate from her embrace and walked around to look Fate in the eyes. "So no more worrying about this okay? We'll be fine, and I certainly won't leave you because it's hard to hide our relationship for a few months, not after we finally got together after all this time." She leaned in slowly and Fate's lips met her own half way. This time she didn't pull away when her beloved deepened the kiss.

They separated a few minutes later, flushed and panting lightly. Nanoha's gaze once again sought out Fate's and a grin played its way across her face as their eyes met. "Feel better now, Fate-chan?" Fate nodded wordlessly in response. "You know, we're going to have to work on that shyness a little. We're going to have to try to make friends at this new school."

"I'll try," replied Fate, her voice still characteristically quiet, but no longer the meek whisper from earlier.

"Now that we've had our bit of fun," started Nanoha as she moved back to her own chair on the other side of the table, "I guess we should get back to our intelligence analysis. What did you make of the paper?

Fate nodded in agreement and picked up her copy of the Prophet, skimming the articles on the front page again to refresh her memory. "It's hard getting down to the data behind the articles, mostly because there's almost none. Everything is accusations and opinion and supposition, no real facts. They seem to be very vehement about denying that this, 'He Who Must Not Be Named,' person's return, while at the same time recognizing a rise in activity among his organization and shoving it off on one of the followers. They seem pretty eager to deny his return while there's no mention of any sort of investigation being carried out. They also seem very eager to discredit the only witness they have. It all seems to be so very heavy handed though, are people really buying all of this?"

"I don't know Fate-chan. A lot of people will believe in whatever is comfortable for them or agrees with their personal preferences, regardless of whether or not it is the truth. Still, you're right about it seeming heavy handed. I get the feeling that a lot of the population doesn't really do a lot of critical thinking. According to what we know so far, the school curriculum doesn't cover any math or science aside from astronomy as mandatory subjects. Even the history is weird, it's like they're trying to create a completely insular world for themselves. The muggle studies book we found talks about non-magical society almost as though the author is an anthropologist exploring an extinct culture.

"Did you get to the editorial section of the Prophet yet?" asked Fate.

"I thought the whole paper was an editorial section," Nanoha replied dully.

"No, the editorial section drops all pretense of reasonableness. There's an article in here supporting some sort of enforced eugenics program." Nanoha cradled her head in her hands while Fate read some choice excerpts. "It is clear that pureblooded witches and wizards are superior in ability and intellect to mixed bloods and muggle-borns. The information from the ministry's latest research clearly supports this..." Fate trailed off as she put the paper down, shaking her head in disgust.

Nanoha sighed audibly, "It's really a bad sign isn't it? But it only makes me want to get involved more since these...movements tend to result in a lot of dead innocents. But I guess it's too early to tell, a few articles and an editorial in one news paper won't change the minds of the higher ups - at least not enough to let us reveal our presence."

"And the gadget complicates things further," interrupted Fate, her expression thoughtful. "If the powers that be order us to contact their Ministry of Magic to offer help, I don't know what direction this will take. Our existence might open their eyes a bit, but as xenophobic as they seem to be, it might start a war instead. I'll put in a recommendation that we spend more time observing before approaching their government. I don't know if they'll listen though, these gadget drone incidents are getting more frequent and severe."

"I'll recommend the same in my report," said Nanoha. "Between the two of us, our opinion should carry at least a little weight, right?"

"I hope so, but it might depend on who sees the reports first. Do you think we should forward them to my mother and let her make sure they get into favorable hands first?"

"It's worth a try, between Lindy and Admiral Leti I'm sure they'll figure something out," Nanoha stated confidently. Raising Heart chimed just then, and a video screen appeared with Mari dominating the frame.

"Ah, um. Lieutenant Takamachi, I have completed analysis on your two wands if you would like to come down to the device shop and have a look. It's really pretty interesting."

"Alright, thank you Mari, we'll be down in just a few minutes," replied Nanoha. "Shall we go then?" she asked, looking to Fate. Fate nodded and the two began the short trek to the ship's device shop.

Mari was waiting for them, their two wands suspended in a translucent field, much like the one Nanoha was used to seeing Raising Heart suspended in while undergoing maintenance or repairs. Mari looked up from the screen she was staring at when she heard the door open and gestured for the two newcomers to join her at the workstation. The screen depicted what looked like an unrolled parchment etched with incomplete magical geometry. Nanoha puzzled over what the image could represent, but Fate chimed in before she could venture a guess.

"Is that what's etched on the inside of the wand?" asked Fate.

Mari nodded, "Yes, what you see in front of you is all etched onto the inside of each of those wands. The image here is magnified quite a lot, so there are a lot of magical circles. Each of them are a relatively simple two dimensional magical circle. Now, if you notice here," she pointed towards one particular area of one of the circles on the screen, "and here," she continued, pointing at another area on the same circle, "you'll notice that there's a spot left blank where there should be a symbol.

"Based on what you've told me of their magic, I think that the gestures that they make with their wand are filling in the blanks of whichever set of magical geometry they're using. It's an interesting short cut, and it explains why they can cast magic without using an intelligent device. That the geometry is static and strictly two dimensional means that the power and complexity of the spells is limited. It also means that they need to practice their wand waving quite a bit in order to get the geometry of the variable right."

"So, the wands effectively put a hard limit on the spells that can be cast?" asked Nanoha.

"Yes, unless the caster is experienced enough to be able to calculate all of the details of another set of magical geometry on the fly. I know that you two are able to do it for a few of your spells, but it's a pretty rare talent," replied Mari. She gestured at the screen once more and the image of the spell geometry closed, replaced with a complex set of graphs and calculations. "I think I can modify your devices to interface with your wands. It will let you cast their spells without having to worry about miscasting for now. I might be able to get your spells to cast through the wands, but I won't have the research done by the time that you have to go tomorrow."

"Thanks Mari, that's a great help. So basically all we have to do is point and say or think the incantation?"

"Yes, that's about it. Raising Heart and Bardiche will fill in the runic variable for you so there is no chance of spell failure and you should achieve optimal spell power every time you cast most spells. It seems that there are a few spells which rely on your emotional state for their power, I'm not quite entirely sure how those work yet. Anyway, those you will need to practice in order to be able to use effectively."

"Ah, Mari?" Fate interjected.

"Yes Ma'am?"

"We were informed that electronics won't work in or around the school for some reason. Is that going to be a problem for us?"

"No, it shouldn't be. Casting magic, particularly sustained wards and fields, generates a lot of electromagnetic interference. It's a fairly simple matter to shield against it, but most consumer electronics on Non-Administrated planet 97," she broke off as Nanoha and Fate both turned to look at her, "I mean Earth, don't have any electromagnetic shielding to speak of. Your devices have to withstand the E.M.I. from your spells all the time, so I don't think being around theirs should pose any problem for them. Any other questions or concerns?"

Fate and Nanoha traded glances before Fate replied, "No, I don't think so, but we'll let you know if we come up with anything before we deploy."

Nanoha found herself stifling a yawn. "Ne, Fate-chan, we should probably get some sleep. We have a train to catch in a few hours." Without waiting for a response, she clamped her hand around Fate's wrist and led her back to their quarters.

Author's Note: Sorry it took so long. This chapter's been a serious pain to write for me, and I'm still not really happy with how it's turned out. I may come back and revise it later, but for now the show must go on. I should have the next chapter out a good deal faster than this one, since it's already half written and all. Once again, thank you all for reading.

SonicAnime2010: I figured it would be more interesting to have some of the adults discover things sooner rather than later to reinforce Dumbledore's reason for wanting to keep the girls where he can keep track of them. Besides, they would probably have been found out pretty quickly since neither of the girls really has a talent for subtlety. Your time frame is pretty accurate. It takes place during one specific 10 month or so time gap in the StrikerS manga, almost immediately after the airport fire and before Fate visits the academy with Erio.

c0dy88: We'll see what happens with pairings. The inevitable widening of people's world-views due to exposure to the girls may result in some peoples' character flaws becoming more evident and pairings changing. But we'll just have to wait and see.

Avatar Angel: The power rankings are something I'm still wrangling with a little. The mage rank system used by the TSAB is fairly complicated and there are a number of sub-categories that people can be ranked under. For example, Hayate is ranked SS in StrikerS, but her rank is what's called a "Composite Rank" and has more to do with raw power than combat effectiveness. She even states in the StrikerS manga that Caro could probably defeat her in normal combat. Few or no wizards would probably be able to rank high at all by the standards of the aerial mage tests. Think of the way both universes fight in the air. Putting a highly skilled wizard on a broom up against an aerial mage from Nanoha would be like putting a P-51 up against an F-18.

An Oni Mouse: I intend to try to keep things as in character as I can. The title of the fic derives from an hours long conversation I had with some of my friends on a road trip regarding how the wizarding world shouldn't be able to function at all when you look at the minutia. That's not to say that there won't be a healthy dose of comedy, but I'm trying to stay away from going all crack-y.

CrazyLikeAnko: Yup, we all know Nanoha. Queen of subtlety she is. Yes McGonagall would have seen them kiss, but she may have just forgotten about it after seeing the level of magic the two were using.

Drinker: I'm glad you appreciate the effort. I'm really trying hard to play this as straight as possible.

CrazyLikeAnko again: Well, Edward *cough* sorry, I mean Cedric was in Hufflepuff. But yes, seeing as Cedric is dead at this point, there are really no named characters in Hufflepuff. On one hand that would give me the opportunity to make up a lot of OCs to fill the house, on the other hand, OCs tend to suck unless you do a really thorough job on the character creation.

741852AuthorNicolaStarlaLili: I'm glad you're happy. Thanks for reading.

Sandanio: Thanks for reading, I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

Major Mike Powell III: I'm glad you approve. I had one of my friends from intelligence go over the meeting to help with the details. I wanted to try writing a fic where Nanoha and Fate were already in an established relationship instead of just vague implications. Opens the door for more amusing situations. Update you say? Sir! Yes sir! Oorah!

LoneWolf218: I'm trying. I think the problem with most of the characters in Harry Potter isn't really a lack of raw intellect, but rather the insular mindset and a general lack of perspective. Not to say that there aren't characters who are just idiots, but I don't know if Fudge was really stupid or just naive.


	5. Chapter 5

Nanoha and Fate arrived at the Leaky Cauldron fifteen minutes early and, after greeting Tom, made their way out the back door to wait in the courtyard. Nanoha fidgeted a little. She and Fate had not been sure what sort of attire they should wear to travel in, but they both agreed that their street clothes were too casual and they couldn't wear their TSAB uniforms. In the end, after briefly consulting Hayate over the com, they had settled on wearing their middle school uniforms. The brown and khaki skirt and blazer outfits, Hayate had explained, were about at the right point between casual and formal, and their overall design shouldn't draw much attention.

After a few minutes, the wall to Diagon Alley opened and a wizened looking woman stepped into the courtyard. "Ms. Takamachi and Ms. Testarossa, I presume?" she said without preamble. The two girls nodded as they were named. "I am Professor McGonagall, the Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts. I am here to escort you to the train. Follow me please." She walked briskly across the courtyard and into the Leaky Cauldron. Nanoha and Fate grabbed their bags and followed, easily keeping pace just behind.

The three made good time through London and arrived at King's Cross station with a comfortable amount of time to spare. "Now," stated Professor McGonagall, "I know it may seem strange to you, but to enter the platform, you will need to walk through that pillar there without hesitating or you may not pass through. It may help if you do it at a bit of a run. Don't worry, it's enchanted so nobody will notice you entering." The two nodded as they observed a youth from another group run through the wall pushing a luggage cart. Nanoha went first, easily passing through the wall at a light jog. She was followed a moment later by Fate, who came through at a dead run and the Professor who walked through at a more casual pace.

The platform that had been completely deserted when Nanoha had seen it two days ago was now a flurry of activity. Children and parents were making their farewells and school friends were re-uniting. The Professor guided them quickly to one of the cars, "This is where you will find most of the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff fifth year students. I'm familiar enough with them to know that they should not give you any trouble about starting school at your age. I will not be accompanying you aboard the train, but I will see you this evening at the opening feast." The girls quickly thanked her, and boarded the train.

The corridor was crowded with students trying to find their friends' compartments and the unwieldy steamer trunks being dragged along by most of them wasn't helping. Glancing around, Fate quickly noticed something strange. "Nanoha, I think that this train is larger on the inside." Nanoha was about to reply that it was probably just an illusion, but pulled herself up short and took a more careful look around.

"I think you are right. I was wondering how small this school must be when the train only had four cars back at the station. I wonder how large the student body at this school really is then," replied Nanoha as she continued to maneuver her way down the corridor. Continuing to look around, she was starting to feel self conscious about the TSAB issued duffel she was carrying, "Fate-chan, do you think we should have gotten trunks?"

Fate, watching one boy laboriously dragging his trunk along, replied quite plainly, "No."

A warning whistle sounded a few moments later as the two walked down the length of the car, searching for a compartment with open seats. They were becoming worried by the time they finally reached the end of the car and Fate let out a small sigh of relief when they found a compartment occupied only by one young girl. She knocked and opened the door but received no discernible response of any kind from the compartment's lone occupant. "Excuse me? May we sit in here?" The girl seemed to notice their presence for the first time then, and slowly lowered the news paper which she had been reading upside down. Her protuberant eyes and vague expression hinted as to why she was alone in a compartment. She nodded wordlessly, before returning to her reading.

Nanoha turned to Fate and the two exchanged amused glances before pulling their luggage into the compartment and taking their seats. Nanoha pulled her winter cloak from her duffel bag, noting the cool temperature, before shoving it up onto one of the luggage racks. A moment later, while Nanoha was debating whether to try speaking to the strange girl, another group of stragglers arrived at the door to the compartment, three in all and being led by a young girl with flaming red hair. The group requested permission to sit and received a similarly noncommital response to the one Fate and Nanoha had gotten a few minutes prior. The two boys took a few moments to put their things in the overhead racks while the girl who had been leading them took a seat next to the Blonde girl.

The redhead started to strike up some polite conversation, asking the blonde how her summer had been. The response was somewhat vague, and was followed by a jarring shift in the conversation. "You're Harry Potter," she stated staring at the thinner of the two boys who'd joined them in the compartment.

Fate recognized the name from some of the articles she'd read and discreetly poked Nanoha in the side to get her attention. Nanoha nodded slightly, she'd noticed as well and focused her gaze on the thin, bespectacled boy. Harry, obviously conscious of the attention now focused on him laughed a bit nervously and replied, "Um, yeah. I am." The girl's attention didn't linger on Harry for long though as she then asked for the identity of the other boy in a rather cumbersome manner. The other boy, after a bit of a self-esteem struggle, was introduced as Neville Longbottom, and the girl as Ginny Weasly. Ginny introduced the odd girl as Luna Lovegood, a student in Ravenclaw. Luna replied by citing an adage of some sort, then hiding behind her magazine once again. The group of students then focused their attention on the two new students.

"I don't believe we've met before," started Ginny," I'm Ginny, a fourth year in Gryffindor. Which house are you from? You don't look familiar."

"My name is Takama-, I am sorry. My name is Nanoha Takamachi. And this is my friend Fate Testarossa Harlaown. We are not in a house, I think," replied Nanoha. "We are here to visit the school."

"You're not already students?" asked Harry, "I've never heard of anyone starting school when they're already older."

"No, we met Professor Dumbledore when we were visiting London. We were not even aware of the existence of magic until a few days ago."

"Really? So you've been going to a muggle school for all this time? Are those your school uniforms then?" inquired Ginny, gesturing at Fate and Nanoha's matching outfits.

Fate blushed slightly and replied, "Um, yes actually. We were not expecting this sort of situation so we did not pack any other clothing that we felt would be adequately formal for traveling. We have finished school actually. We were both a bit accelerated."

"So you were visiting London to look at universities then?"

"Yes, and to see the sights," interjected Nanoha. "We have never visited Europe before. We was in Italy and France before we came to England."

"We were in," corrected Fate. Nanoha gave her a betrayed look. "Do not worry about it, your English has been fine otherwise, I believe."

"Both of you speak English very well," interjected Ginny. "I can't place your accent though. Where are you from, if you don't mind my asking?"

"It is no problem. We are both from Uminari city in Japan," replied Nanoha taking care to mind her tenses. "It is on the east coast, to the south west of Tokyo. It is near Shizuoka" Ginny and Neville both looked at them blankly. "It is on the big island of Japan, about two thirds of the way down the east coast." More blank stares, "You do know where Japan is right?"

"It's in Asia, right? Somewhere near China?" guessed Neville.

"Do they not teach geography in your school?" inquired Fate.

"I think that we covered it briefly in our Muggle Studies class. That's the study of rocks right?" asked Ginny.

"Ginny, you're thinking of geology. Geography is the study of where countries are located, their history, people, and how they interact with each other," Harry corrected her. Ginny and Neville both looked at him curiously, "I did attend muggle school until I got my letter you know." Fate and Nanoha shared a look, but neither said anything.

There was a brief break in conversation, and the students to the time to watch the countryside passing by the windows. After a few minutes, Neville broke the quiet and produced a curious looking plant from his bag, a birthday gift from his great-uncle he explained. Nanoha looked warily at the "plant". It appeared to be more like an animal of some sort, fleshy, covered in boils, and undulating rhythmically.

After a brief description of the plant and its rarity, Harry inquired if the plant could, "do anything." The moment Neville mentioned a defensive mechanism and grabbed a quill from his bag Nanoha and Fate shared a brief look before ducking behind whatever was at hand. Along the lines of their expectations, the plant's defensive mechanism involved spraying the inside of the compartment with some sort of foul smelling liquid. Nanoha had curled into a ball under her cloak to avoid getting sprayed, Fate, unable to find suitable cover in time, had simply dodged between the streams and was left standing, pristine, in the middle of the slimy compartment.

Nanoha lowered her cloak and took stock of the situation. The compartment reeked and all of the other students had been impacted to some degree. Neville and Harry had been hit worst, Harry was spitting out gobs of foul liquid and Neville was trying to clear his eyes while apologizing profusely. Nanoha caught Fate's attention and rolled her eyes, eliciting a soft laugh from her friend. Fate and Nanoha both turned their attention immediately to the compartment door, which had started to slide open.

A pretty Asian girl was standing in the doorway, probably Chinese thought Nanoha as she examined the newcomer's face. The girl blinked in surprise as she found herself almost nose to nose with Fate once the door was open. Fate, as surprised as the newcomer, was frozen in place and the girl leaned to one side a bit to peer around her. Then, without uttering a word, she slid the door shut. Fate could tell from her her footfalls that she was making a rapid retreat away from the compartment.

Harry cradled his head in his hands and groaned, obviously distressed at having been seen in this state. Ginny, in the meantime had drawn her wand and with a short incantation that Nanoha and Fate missed, cleaned all traces of the reeking sap from the compartment. Nanoha laid a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder, "You like that girl. Am I right?" He nodded dejectedly in response, "Well, I cannot fault your tastes. You should not take this so seriously."

"I know, I know. This just isn't how I imagined meeting her again after we haven't seen each other all summer."

Nanoha thought for a moment, "Try to think of it as a funny story the two of you can laugh over later," she suggested. His mood seemed to brighten a little then.

"How did you manage not to get hit with any of the stinksap?" asked Ginny, completely ignoring Harry's mourning while staring goggle eyed at Fate. Fate, unsure of how to respond turned to Nanoha for help.

"Nyahaha," laughed Nanoha a bit sheepishly, "Fate has been training in the martial arts since she was very young," she supplied. She grimaced a little as she said it, knowing that her explanation was not even vaguely realistic. To her surprise however, the other patrons of the compartment seemed to accept her explanation without question.

*Really Nanoha, that was the best you could come up with?* Fate asked mentally as she took a seat next to Nanoha.

*I didn't see you coming up with any bright ideas. At least they bought it, right?*

*I can't imagine why. This society really is incredibly insular.*

"Could you teach me?" inquired Ginny after a moment's thought, interrupting Nanoha and Fate's mental exchange.

"Actually, that was a very advanced technique and..." Nanoha said evasively.

"But Nanoha would be happy to teach you some of the basics. Nanoha is a better instructor than I am, and she grew up in a home with many skilled martial artists," Fate cut in, overriding Nanoha's avoidance.

"Well, I guess I could teach you some of the basics. If the teachers allow us to, I mean."

"Um," interrupted Harry, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to learn too."

"Excuse me?" Nevile asked, "What are martial arts?"

"Martial arts," explained Nanoha patiently, "are, simply put, methods of fighting, either armed or unarmed."

"So that wouldn't be effective against magic then, would it?" asked Neville.

"You generally need your wands to cast spells, and need to point your wand at your target, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then it should be fine. I cannot demonstrate here, there is not enough space to do it without risking hurting someone, but I will show you at school if I am allowed to. I would like to ask the headmaster for his permission before performing any physical demonstrations or teaching any techniques," she stated. Then, noticing Ginny's disappointed expression, quickly added, "I will ask him for permission as soon as I am able to though."  
>The following hour was spent exchanging stories of the students' differing worlds. The young witches and wizards listened in fascination as Nanoha and Fate told them of their lives growing up in Japan and tried their best to answer the questions that their new friends brought up about life in the wizarding world. The food cart offered yet another set of learning experiences for the two new students, Fate's first attempt at eating a chocolate frog ending in failure as it escaped her grasp and leapt out the window, leaving Nanoha laughing. Fate soon got her revenge, laughing along with the rest of the passengers at Nanoha's expressions as she tried a box of Bernie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.<p>

The conversation had begun to dwindle, interspersed with increasingly frequent bouts of silence, when there was a polite knock at the compartment door. A moment later, the door opened and a young woman with notably voluminous brown hair entered the compartment followed by a doofy looking boy with bright orange hair which matched Ginny's. The boy immediately flopped down into the seat next to Nanoha, left vacant only moments earlier by Fate who had gotten up to stretch. Paying no mind to the other passengers, he immediately grabbed a chocolate frog from the center table, tore off the packaging and ferociously bit off its head.

Nanoha glanced at Fate, smiling in amusement at her friend's nonplussed expression. *I guess etiquette isn't one of the school subjects, ne Fate-chan?* Nanoha smiled as Fate tried to stifle a laugh.

"It is rather absurd isn't it?" the newly arrived girl asked of no one in particular while glaring at the boy. "Ronald, mind yourself. We're supposed to be trying to make a good impression." Then, turning her attention to Fate and Nanoha, "I'm very sorry about that. I'm Hermione Granger, and this slob," she gestured at Ron, who was swiping at the mess on his face with a sleeve, "is Ron Weasley. You two must be the two new students we were told about, right? Fate Testarosa and Nano...Nanyu..."

"Nanoha. Nanoha Takamachi," replied Nanoha, grinning as she recalled of Vita's initial difficulties pronouncing her name.

"Na-no-ha...Nanoha..." Hermione repeated to herself, obviously committing the pronunciation to memory. "Well, I'm glad that you two are here, it saves me having to hunt through the whole train to find you," she said as she dug into her pocket and produced a folded piece of parchment. "This is for you from Professor Dubledore. Also, I've been asked to be your guide while you get used to things here so feel free to come to me with any questions that you may have."

Before Fate or Nanoha could start asking questions, Hermione paused for a moment and looked around skeptically at the cramped compartment. After a moment's consideration, she retrieved her wand from her bag and began an incantation. All of the passengers in the car, except for Luna, had their attention on her as she murmured under her breath for a few moments and traced a rather complicated pattern in the air. Suddenly the compartment seemed to elongate, with enough space along the benches to comfortably accommodate all of the students.  
>"How'd you do that Hermione?" asked Harry, a slightly awed look on his face.<p>

"It wasn't too difficult really," said Hermione as she took a seat across from Fate. The train cars are already under enchantments to be larger on the inside, that's why we can fit the entire student body in four passenger cars. So it was just a matter of slightly adjusting the spell that's in place." She turned her attention once again to the pair of newcomers, "Now, did you have any questions you would like to ask?"

"Yes," replied Fate, "Actually, I am a bit - I do not fully understand this system of houses that we keep hearing about." Hermione nodded and began her explanation. Nanoha took the opportunity to open the letter she'd received.

~MSLN~

Dear Mss. Takamachi and Testarossa,

Welcome once again to Hogwarts. I would like to ask for your patience, this is our first time accepting new students your age. Please bear with us as we are putting together an accelerated introductory program for you. I have asked Miss Granger to help you to acclimate yourselves. She is one of our most knowledgeable students and should be a great help to you.

Now, there is one important matter I feel you should be made aware of. Forgive my presumption if I am wrong, but the two of you seem to be involved in a romantic relationship. While I, personally, do not take issue with this, there is a piece of very old legislation in effect which, should you be found out by someone inclined to report you to the ministry, would compel me to have you expelled from the school. Please don't allow this to color your view of our society too negatively. As in any society, there exist many tolerant individuals and some not so tolerant individuals. I think that you will find, as you attend our school, that most of our students are kind, understanding people.

As you may have been made aware of by the other students by now, our school's student body is split into four houses, each named for one of the school founders and prizing that founder's values. All first year students are sorted into houses at the start of the year in a ceremony you will witness. I leave it to your preferences if you would like to be sorted along with the first years, or if you would prefer to wait until you have decided whether you wish to attend for the year. Please let Professor McGonagall know when she meets you upon the train's arrival.

We have arranged for you to stay in the same dormitory as Miss Granger for the duration of your initial visit. If you elect to stay with us and are sorted into different houses we will arrange for other accommodations when the time comes. If you have any questions or concerns which cannot be addressed by your peers, please feel free to see me in my office. Professor McGonagall can guide you there. Until then, I hope that you will have an enjoyable first week at Hogwarts. I am sure that we will be learning as much from you as you do from us.

Best regards,

Albus Dumbledore

~MSLN~

Nanoha tried not to noticeably frown as she re-read the letter. *Ne, Fate-chan. I think he knows that we're spying.*

*May I see?* asked Fate, politely disengaging herself from her conversation with Hermione and turning to face Nanoha who handed her the letter. Nanoha turned her attention to Hermione then, "Anno, Hermione, it was pronounced right? Your headmaster seems to think very highly of you. It looks like we will be rooming together for at least the next week. Please take good care of us."

"Thank you. I look forward to showing you the school and getting to know more about you, also your martial arts lessons if they let you go ahead with them," replied Hermione who, grinning widely, then inclined her head and added, "For the extent of our time rooming together at least, yoroshiku onegaishimasu." Nanoha blinked twice in surprise and Fate looked up from her letter. The other passengers simply looked puzzled. "Did I pronounce that correctly?"

"Ah, yes," replied Nanoha after a moment, "forgive me, but I was a little surprised. Where did you learn to speak Japanese?"

"Unlike some people I could name," replied Hermione as she gave a meaningful look at Ron and Harry, "I like to use my time off constructively. My parents hired me a tutor over the summer to keep me up to date with the muggle schools' science and mathematics curricula. My tutor was a Japanese woman named Mizuho Kazami, she taught me a few phrases here and there. I'm honestly really happy that you're here. Aside from you two, I doubt that any of the other students in the school understand things like algebra or chemistry. It would probably help a lot of them if they did, it would make potions and arithmancy easier at least.

"Geeze 'Mione, even during break you go to school. Why are you bothering for anyway? It's not like you really need to know that stuff," remarked Ron. Hermione glared at him and was about to retort when the door to the compartment suddenly slammed open. Fate was on her feet before anyone else could react. She found herself facing a boy with silvery blond hair and a malevolent look on his face. His look of surprise at being suddenly confronted faded after only a moment.

"You must be one of those new students. Already slumming around with Potter and his losers I see, fitting for mudbloods like you. And what's with that eye color? Are you some sort of freak?" Fate blinked in surprise at the sudden diatribe. Unsure of how to respond, she worked her mouth for a moment, but couldn't decide on a reply. Draco took her silence as timidity and, sensing easy prey, resumed his abuse before any of the other students in the compartment could butt in. "What's wrong? Don't speak English, you bloody mongrel?" he sneered as he noticed the piece of parchment she was holding. "This really is proof that Dumbledore is losing it," he said as he made a grab for the letter. Fate easily avoided his attempt, tossing the letter behind her. He made another grab as Fate tossed the letter and managed to snag her wrist. He grinned wickedly and tugged.

Fate however didn't resist, she dropped her stance and stepped in towards the obnoxious boy, pulling him off balance and sending him falling backwards into the corridor. She heard someone behind her gasp even as the two large boys who had been trailing the blond one closed in on her. Fate sighed in resignation as they both grabbed for her. Even Nanoha couldn't follow her movements as she sent the two bullies to join their leader on the ground, one cradling his head as he tried to steady his vision, the other nursing a bloody nose.

"How dare you!" the blond spluttered as he got to his feet, "You have no idea who you're dealing with!"

"Oh, I know exactly what I am dealing with," Fate finally spoke in her characteristic calm, quiet tone, "an adolescent bully with a sizable inferiority complex attempting, unsuccessfully, to establish dominance over the new students through displays of intimidation. I am not very intimidated by the way," stated Fate as off-handedly as she could. She hoped the brat would run off to lick his wounds after her display of indifference toward him. She saw him huffing, his nostrils pinched and white and his eyes wide. Then he drew his wand.

Fate frowned, she'd hoped that he wouldn't try this. She grabbed his hand before the wand had even cleared his sleeve completely. She ducked under the arm she'd grabbed and flung it downward, bending him over, before sending him tumbling head over heels down the corridor. He fetched up against the opposite wall of the hall way and quickly stumbled to his feet, tripping hover himself and smashing his face against a doorway in his haste. He blinked in surprise as he brought his hand to his face, then looked at it to see the blood now gushing from his nose. "You!" he howled in anger as compartment doors opened all down the corridor and curious faces peered out, "Wait till I tell my father about this!"

"Tell your father what? That you and your pair of trained gorillas were beaten up by a fifteen year old girl you were bullying who does not know any magic? I am sure he will be very supportive of your position." The boy opened and closed his mouth a few times before stamping away down the corridor, his lackeys in tow. Fate slammed the compartment door shut once again. "Kuso," she mumbled as she punched the doorframe.

Nanoha, who'd gotten to her feet just moments after Fate, laid a hand on her shoulder. "It will be alright Fate-chan. We all saw them attack you first. Even here you should be allowed to defend yourself, right?" asked Nanoha, looking to Hermione.

Hermione startled a little at the sound of her name. Nanoha noticed that the letter had landed, face-up, on Hermione's lap when Fate had tossed it. She felt her stomach sink a little, the writing was large enough that a quick glance at the parchment could reveal information they didn't want to share, and the way Hermione had sat transfixed told her that the girl had likely spotted just the area that they didn't want her to see. "I... um," Hermione stammered as she hastily turned the letter face down, "It should be alright. You won't be in serious trouble at least. Everyone in here and some of the other compartments saw that they attacked first. I can't believe him, the first thing he does as a Prefect is to go out of his way to harass students and directly disobey the one request that the Faculty made of us at this point of the year. Well, maybe he learned something from this."

" I wouldn't bet on it Hermione," said Harry somewhat morosely, "Once you're marked I don't think it matters to him what you do or say. If anything it might make him more driven to show her up in the future."

"Is this an ongoing problem with that boy then? He is not really very imposing. Why has nobody put him in his place before now?" asked Fate.

"Is there a reason he behaves like that? Is he from a bad family?" asked Nanoha.

"Yeah, there's a reason alright. The reason's that he's a git," Harry replied tersely.

Hermione sighed, "Harry's description isn't too far off the mark. Draco belongs to a wealthy and influential family. His parents dote on him and he generally wants for nothing. His attitudes, I think, are reflective of his parents. He's been raised to believe that he's superior and he enjoys flaunting it."

"What does mud-blood mean?" Nanoha asked.

"It's a fairly vile insult. It's approximately a racial slur against people with any non-magical lineage and especially those who were born to a pair of non-magical parents."

"Is that sort of attitude common? A bully or two is not a big problem, but if it is a societal phenomenon I think that I might prefer not to become involved."

Hermione looked troubled by that declaration and she took a moment to collect her thoughts before responding. The other occupants of the car opted not to speak up, trusting Hermione to handle the sensitive matter better than any of them could. Eventually she replied, "I honestly wish I could tell you otherwise, but yes it is a problem. There is a vocal minority with all too much influence and an obsession with blood purity. I'm a muggle-born myself, but I've decided to stay because to me the education and opportunity is worth it. In school things rarely elevate beyond snide comments, but I can understand if you'd rather not have to put up with it."

"I think we can put up with a little bit of name calling for now at least, right Fate-chan?" *No matter what names they can come up with to call us, it can't possibly be worse than our first training officer was. It still amazes me that Liutennant Patenge could curse fluently in over a dozen languages.*

Fate had to stop herself from wincing at the memory, "I suppose that you are right. At the very least we can see how events transpire in our first week." *I see that look in your eyes Nanoha, we're here to observe, not to try to fix their society. Please don't instigate anything, and don't try to tell me you weren't thinking about it.*

*Nyahaha, you know me too well Fate-chan. I promise that I'll behave. We should try to look into this further though. Even though Earth is non-administrated, the TSAB will want to intervene if the eugenics obsessed faction in the government tries to start a genocide.* Nanoha returned her attention to Hermione. Oblivious to the telepathic conversation that had been overlapping the verbal one, the girl seemed very much relieved at the new students' decision to give the school a chance.

The group split up by gender as they took turns using the compartment to change into their school uniforms two or three at a time. The group reconvened as soon as everyone had finished changing. Nanoha noticed that Harry was staring at Ron's prefect badge with rather poorly concealed envy. Ron and Hermione bid a quick farewell to the rest of the group, promising to meet up again in the great hall, before departing to help make sure the younger students got where they needed to go.

The group made small talk until the train platformed a few minutes later. As Fate an Nanoha moved to grab their luggage Ginny intervened, informing the pair that the bags would be taken up to the castle by the house elves and would be in their rooms by the time the feast was finished. Nanoha was a little skeptical, so she pulled a small pouch from the inside of her bag containing a few of her more important possessions and put it in her pocket before exiting the compartment into the now crowded corridor. Her worry evaporated somewhat as she noted that indeed, none of the other students were hauling their luggage with them as they moved to exit the train.

As she debarked, Nanoha took a quick look around to evaluate her surroundings and attempt to locate Professor McGonagall. "Nanoha, eleven-o-clock, under the lamp post," Fate said, her quiet voice barely audible over the din around them. Nanoha nodded her acknowledgement and quickly debarked from the train to keep from blocking the exit for too long. Absently checking to make sure that Fate was behind her, she nimbly maneuvered her way through the crowd on the platform to where the professor was waiting for them.

Professor McGonagall gave a curt nod in greeting as the girls approached her before saying, "Follow me please," in a slightly harried voice. She led them at a brisk pace to a carriage set slightly apart from the line of similar conveyances that the other students were boarding. Nanoha didn't notice until they had gotten much closer that what she'd thought was a horse hitched up to the carriage was anything but. The creature looked almost to be more draconic than equine, its coat smooth and shiny, and its features almost reptilian. "Excuse me Professor, what is the type of creature that is pulling the cart?" she asked, suspiciously eyeing the vicious looking creature.

Nanoha almost missed the look of surprise which briefly graced the wizened old witch's face. "Those are known as Thestrals. Don't worry, they are very well trained and despite their appearance, they will not harm you." Nanoha wondered as they climbed into the carriage where the passing surprise had come from, perhaps these creatures were well known enough among the community that simply asking about them was a surprise. She was shaken out of her thoughts as the carriage gave a sight jolt and began to move along a winding road through the woods.

"Have the two of you given any thought to whether you would like to be sorted into houses along with the first year students?"

*I don't see any reason we shouldn't, do you Fate?* Nanoha mentally asked her companion.

*We may as well. Due to the way the houses are organized, it would probably help us to fit in a bit quicker.*

"Yes," Nanoha replied to Professor McGonagall, "we decided that we would like to be sorted with this year's new students."

"Very well then, when we arrive at the school, you may line up behind the first year students. We will call you up after they have been sorted into their houses."

There was no more conversation as the carriage trundled up the path toward the castle. Nanoha was awed by the structure. While she had seen far larger buildings, the massive stone construction used to build the castle had a character and feeling of immensity that the more streamlined sky scrapers on Midchilda lacked. She and fate continued to watch in silence as the castle loomed progressively larger in front of them. At long last, the carriage came to a halt outside a tremendous pair of doors and the girls debarked. As they walked up the stone stairs to the entrance way Professor McGonagall turned to face them for a moment as she said, "Welcome, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

~~~MSLN~~~

A/N1: Sorry it took so long, this was a bit of a pain to write for some reason. I kept going back and revising it and I'm still not entirely happy with the way it's turned out. I may revisit this chapter some time in the future, but for now I think it's getting to be time to just move on for now.

A/N2: I've opted to use the school uniforms from the movies rather than just have the students wear their normal clothing under a robe. Why? Because they look cool, that's why.

~~~MSLN~~~

Runewizarddd: I'm glad you liked it. They'll probably get to visit a lot of classes so they can see what the school is about at the upper levels. I imagine arithmancy might well be a class that they'd visit, particularly considering who their guide is.

Taeniaea: Thanks, I try.

SonicAnime2010: Thanks for your continued readership. Actually, according to the manga, both Nanoha and Fate did pretty poorly in language classes when they were 9 and 10 years old. I imagine the military discipline might have helped them learn a bit better later on.

CrazyLikeAnko: I actually had Yuuno going along in the first draft, but I wrote him out of the story when I decided where I wanted to go with it longer term. He is also employed full time at the Infinity Library at this point in the universe's timeline, so I doubt he'd be able to get free for a mission like this.

Sandanio: Indeed he is. It might come into play later in the story, but I'm still split on that one.

Major_Mike_Powell_III: How did I come up with this stuff? Good question. I'm not entirely certain about some of it actually. I can't actually recall how I came up with the wands thing.

EVA-Saiyajin: Thanks, I will venture to do so.

741852AuthorNicolaStarlaLili: I'm glad you like it. Yeah, MSLN is definitely not the straightest show out there.

Ragnarok: Feel free I guess. It's not like I can claim copyright on this story anyway. Send me a link to your story when you post it, I'd love to read it.

Filraen: Actually, Hayate is the intelligence officer and investigator of the trio. The one in direct command of the mission is Chrono, who is watching from orbit. Nanoha tends to take the lead in social situations for personality reasons.

DragonZap: I'm glad you liked it.

Rick_Dias: The dialog is partially my fault. I don't have a very natural feel for Dumbledore's speech from the books and movies, I've been reviewing them again to try to remedy that. On the girls' part it was intentional. Formal courses in languages tend to suck at imparting casual conversation skills, I know this one from personal experience. They are being very conscious of using proper tenses and conjugations, and they probably haven't actually learned to use contractions.  
>Investigating the cultural differences was actually a primary driving factor behind the creation of this piece. They'll eventually grow accustomed to the English food, but even for me, an American, English food (especially a full English breakfast) feels pretty heavy when I have it. There aren't a lot of meals in the TSAB mess halls shown, but they don't seem to be all that heavy from what I can recall.<br>This story occurs in August of the year 0071 of the Midchildan calendar. It's soon after the airport fire where Subaru first met Nanoha. Neither Subaru nor Teana has actually entered academy yet at this point though, so it is unlikely they'll be appearing.  
>Thank you for reading, and thank you for writing. Your "Professor Takamachi" story is what prompted me to actually start posting this monstrosity.<p>

Hyp3rB14d3: The reason that Dumbledore has not read their minds yet is twofold. First is that it would be morally objectionable since he doesn't think that they're a threat. Second is that he doesn't know how powerful Fate and Nanoha are and would have concerns about being detected trying to sneak into their brains. We'll see about the wands, we wouldn't want them to fit in too well or things would get boring.


	6. Chapter 6

Nanoha and Fate were left to wait at the rear of the line of first years, feeling extremely conspicuous as they towered over the much younger students. Professor McGonagall gave a brief explanation of the purpose of the sorting and advised everyone to tidy themselves as they would soon be standing in front of the entire staff and student body to be sorted. She excused herself a moment later, promising to return when it was time to enter the dining hall. Upon her departure the younger students immediately began to chatter away, wondering how the sorting was accomplished and exchanging rumors from their older siblings about it. Many of them stared outright at the pair of older girls, but none mustered the courage to speak their minds.

It wasn't long before Professor McGonagall returned, "Now, please form a line and follow me," she said without any preamble. After taking a moment to ensure that everyone was lined up properly, Professor McGonagall picked up a stool with an ancient looking hat resting upon it and gestured at the tremendous pair of doors which obligingly opened for her. Fate and Nanoha both gaped as they entered the main hall. The immense gothic architecture of the castle was impressive enough, and the cavernous entrance hall had left Nanoha and especially Fate amazed but the banquet hall, while smaller, was on a level all its own.

Hundreds of candles floated freely above the heads of the students sitting at four long tables and under the high ceiling which had been enchanted to appear like the night sky above. Decorated buttresses jutted out from high on the walls to support the mightily vaulted ceiling and what Nanoha could only describe to herself as ghosts, vapory and translucent, flew about the hall talking with the students and faculty. The faculty of the school was seated together at one end of the hall, their long table upon a raised platform overlooking the student body.

The teachers were an eclectic looking bunch, though Nanoha didn't have enough time for a very in depth analysis as they reached the front of the hall and were positioned facing outward toward the four long tables where the older students sat and waited. A quick review had the school's staff including what appeared to be a midget, a ghost, a very diverse looking collection of normal adults, and one scowling woman wearing a painfully ugly pink cardigan. [Nanoha, I think I found a more terrifying shade of pink than your Starlight Breaker,] Fate remarked, obviously noticing the same thing she had. [I wonder what's got her so peeved, all of the other faculty members seem to be in good spirits.]

The mysterious stool with the extremely battered hat perched atop it was placed carefully at the front of the raised area by Professor McGonagall who then stepped back to wait. Nanoha could already see Fate starting to blush as the two of them drew stares and muttered comments from the student body as they stood at one end of the line of new students. [It looks as though the faculty are about to initiate the ritual we've heard about during which the students are sorted into one of the four houses,] Nanoha began to dictate to Raising Heart. [It would seem that the hat there must play some role in...] Nanoha was cut off by shock as, much to her bemusement, the hat began to sing.

Taking a quick look around the hall, Nanoha and Fate were quickly able to ascertain that this was a normal occurrence, the older students and professors paying casual attention and the first years standing in line with them watching in rapt delight, but nobody seeming at all surprised. There was some surprise, however, at the topic of the song, warning against letting inter-house rivalries get in the way of unity in the face of outside threats. There was no small amount of murmuring throughout the hall at that, by both the students and the faculty. [It seems that the hat is either an enchanted item or a magical construct with some degree of sentience.]

The murmuring quickly ceased as Professor McGonagall stepped forward to stand beside the stool and unrolled her parchment, her gaze traversing back and forth across the noisy older students. "When I call your name," she began, addressing the first years, "you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." There was barely a moment's pause before she began calling names starting with, "Abercrombie, Euan." One of the children they had marched in behind stepped forwards, visibly quite nervous, and taking a seat on the stool put the hat upon his head. The hat was comically oversized for the child, and it looked almost as though it were about to swallow his head. Nanoha had to stifle her laughter and wasn't quite successful enough as her giggle earned her an elbow in the rib from Fate. [Behave yourself, Nanoha.]

The hat took a moment to consider, somehow actually managing to arrange its wrinkles and seams in such a way as to appear pensive. Then, without warning, the wide seam near its brim that had been used as a mouth to sing its song once again opened as the hat declared, "GRYFFINDOR!" One of the four tables applauded loudly as the terrified boy replaced the hat upon the stool and stepped down off the stage to join the other Gryffindor students at their table.

After the first few chidren were sorted, Fate and Nanoha began trying to predict which houses students would end up in. Fate did manage to peg two of the first years as Slytherins due to their demeanors, but the other three houses seemed to be much more difficult to predict based on initial impressions of the chidrens' dispositions. Fate noted that a similar arrangement seemed to exist among the older students, with Slytherin house seeming to hold themselves somewhat aloof from the others and, while there seemed to be some friendly rivalries between the other houses, having a very serious enmity between themselves and Gryffindor.

"Zeller, Rose," was finally announced and was quickly sorted into Hufflepuff. Professor McGonagall rolled up her parchment but did not yet move back to her seat. A murmur arose from the students as they noticed that the sorting hat had not been taken off of the dais.

The voices quieted once again as the headmaster stood. "My friends, I am happy to announce that we have a pair of older visiting students who will be joining us for the next few days and possibly staying for the rest of the school year if they so choose." He beckoned to the pair, and they approached the stage. "Now, if you please, let us determine where you will be staying."

"Takamachi, Nanoha," called Professor McGonagall. Nanoha stepped up onto the platform and sat on the stool as she had seen the younger students do. She placed the sorting hat was placed on her head, and suddenly felt very silly. Her embarrassment was soon eclipsed by fascination as the hat started to communicate with her telepathically.

[Hmm, an older student, eh? Interesting, you know, I've often thought that we should wait until the students are older to sort them, let them spend time as a single student body before dividing them into houses. Of course, it becomes much more difficult with older students, so much more well-rounded. You've certainly got a fine mind, and your studiousness would find you comfortable in Ravenclaw. You're fiercely loyal to your friends, and your compassion and straight-forwardness would make you a fine Hufflepuff. You are brave beyond bounds, and your impetuousness...] the hat seemed to shudder on her head for a moment, [Yes, without a doubt, you belong in,] the hat stated before shouting out loud, "GRYFFINDOR!" A cheer arose from the students, more enthusiastically from the Gryffindor table, and much less so from the Slytherins. Nanoha walked over to the table and took a free seat near the end where she could watch as Fate put on the hat.

[Raising Heart,] she spoke mentally, [please take an image capture of Fate wearing the sorting hat.]

[Yes, my master,] the jewel replied, its tone as neutral as ever. Nanoha smiled mischievously as she watched the Fate take a seat and place the hat on her head. The attention and the silly attire predictably led the blond to flush bright red. Fate noticed Nanoha's smile and was about to answer it with a glare when the hat started speaking to her.

[Hmmm, another tough one. My, my, a pureblood from a family I don't know of? Can it be because you're foreign? A member of an established family in another part of the world? No, how is this…you seem almost too purebred almost…almost…]

[Engineered?] Fate supplied helpfully.

The hat fell silent for a few moments, clearly due to shock rather than consideration Fate judged by its silence. [I have encountered many students who would think at me in hopes of being heard, but you are the first to speak to me directly. How is it that you can do this? Is your friend similarly capable?]

[Yes, both of us can communicate using telepathy,] Fate replied. [Is nobody else here capable of communicating this way?]

[I have not encountered any students who have been able to. I should imagine that there is a method allowing for it since I am able to do it. Ah, but back to the matter at hand shall we? I daresay we have taken long enough already.] Once again, the hat lapsed briefly into contemplative silence.

[Your breeding and your ambition could place you in Slytherin, but it seems driven by the desire to protect others rather than your own self-advancement and I don't think that your temperament would find you happy there. You care just as deeply for your companions as your friend who was just here, if not even more so. You're as brave as her too, though not as headstrong as she is. You would fit in well in Hufflepuff, and almost as well in Gryffindor.]

[If it is not too much trouble,] Fate thought at the hat in English, [could you please put me in Gryffindor?]

The hat paused for a moment, [Hmm, it might be wise. You will help temper your friend's impulsive behavior, and you would certainly be welcome there. Yes, well I have made my decision.] Fate was blushing like a tomato when the hat finally announced, "GRYFFINDOR!" Another roar erupted from the crowd as Fate made her way down from the dais to the Gryffindor table. Nanoha greeted her with a hug and, clamping her hand around Fate's wrist dragged her quickly down to where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting.

[Thank You,] Fate directed at the hat, as she looked back over her shoulder. The hat actually managed to look flabbergasted that she was able to communicate remotely even as it was being picked up and marched off stage by Professor McGonagall.

"It's great that you're both in the same house as us," said Harry as soon as they sat.

"Yeah, neither of you seemed like big enough gits to get into Slytherin," contributed Ron, a scornful smirk on his lips.

"Ron, you know not everyone in Slytherin is a jerk," countered Hermione.

Ron opened his mouth to retort but was cut off as the room returned to silence as the headmaster stood up at the faculty table. "To our newcomers, welcome!" he announced, "To our old hands – welcome back! There is a time for speech-making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

Nanoha laughed and Fate grinned as the headmaster actually threw his long beard back over his shoulder in preparation for the meal which had suddenly appeared on the tables before them illiciting surprised yelps from some of the first years and satisfied sighs from some of the nearby older students. [It looks the the food was prepared elsewhere and just transported here. The magical signature is wrong for having been conjured.] Fate commented to Nanoha as she surveyed the dishes in front of her.

[You're better than reading magical signatures than I am. If they do have a normal kitchen somewhere, I wonder if I could convince the cooks to let me use it for a little while,] Nanoha said, her tone slightly distressed. [I'm beginning to think that the most difficult part of this mission will be digesting the food.] She began to scoop conservative portions of vegetables onto her plate but was interrupted as Ron reached across her without warning to get at a platter stacked high with pork chops.

"Really Ron, I should call your mother and have her beat some table manners into your head," quipped an exasperated Hermione as she picked up the platter and passed it down the table toward the redhead. "Is the food not to your liking?" she asked, turning her attention to the visitors, both of whom had plates filled primarily with vegetables and a few cuts of lean meat without sauce.

"Um, how do I say this? It is just that we are used to a lighter diet so this will take some time to get used to," replied Nanoha. "Are all of the meals here this heavy?"

"Well, the start of the year feast is a bit heavier than what's normally served for meals, but the English diet does tend to be heavier than the Japanese dishes that I'm familiar with," said Hermione pensively as she neatly cut a portion of steak into bite sized pieces. "We should go ask the kitchen staff if they can prepare any asian cuisine. I'm sure it'd be an interesting experience for some of the other students here who've never had it. If not, there aren't any rules against students cooking their own meals so far as I'm aware."

"Hmm, I will have to see if I can get permission to use the kitchen some time then," stated Nanoha thoughtfully as she poked experimentally at some cheese and butter soaked sprouts on her plate.

"It shouldn't be a problem. There are other students who occasionally cook for themselves due to dietary restrictions," came a voice from just above and behind them. Nanoha turned around to find herself looking up at one of the vapory entities who had been floating about the hall. "Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington," he introduced himself while bowing deeply.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Nicholas," said Nanoha, who smoothly got up from the table to bow in return. "I am Nanoha Takamachi, and this is my friend Fate Testarosa Harlaown," she said as she gestured at Fate who had also stood to greet the ghost.

"My, such manners from modern young ladies. It would warm my heart if I were still alive."

"Nearly Headless Nick is the Gryffindor house ghost," Hermione informed them. "I'm sorry we were interrupted before, Nick. Would you mind telling me more about the sorting hat's prior warnings when we head up to the common room?"

"Of course, it would be my pleasure."

Fate looked to Hermione, "I am sorry if we have disrupted your conversation," her voice could barely be heard over the din in the hall.

Both Nick and Hermione waved her off, "It's nothing to worry about. There's plenty of time to talk about school history later on. For now it's more important to help the new students feel welcome."

"I see. Thank you." She paused for a moment before addressing the ghost, "if you don't mind my asking, why "Nearly Headless?" she said, looking at him inquiringly. If she or Nanoha felt any shock when Nick pulled his head most of the way off, they concealed it well, surprising the ghost a bit. "So you are really a dead individual then? How is it that you still exist here?" she seemed very fascinated.

"Well, sometimes when Witches or Wizards die, usually in a particularly untimely fashion, they may become ghosts. Most often we are anchored to this world by unfinished business or regrets. As far as I know, muggles never become ghosts, so there must be a certain amount of magical power required. Specifically what devices cause us to remain however, I do not know," he concluded, appearing to be somewhat saddened. He brightened a moment later however, "If you'll excuse me, I need to greet some of the other new students. It was a pleasure meeting you both. I will see you around." Nanoha and Fate both politely inclined their heads to him and returned his farewell before he floated off down the table toward some of the first years.

Fate and Nanoha turned their attention back to the table and continued to taste the unfamiliar foods before them while taking turns engaging in conversation.

"Ron, don't they feed you at home?" asked Hermione, clearly irate at Ron's continuing to gorge himself while the rest of them were engaged in discussion around him.

"ommfsp prskhgl rmmursgl phrs," Ron replied, struggling to swallow his mouthful of food.

Noting that Hermione had her attention occupied with berating Ron, Nanoha turned her attention to Harry, who had been remarkably quiet throughout the course of the meal. He had seemed ill at ease for much of the meal, but was actually wearing a slight smile as he savored the slice of pie on his plate. Nanoha served herself a significantly smaller portion and took a taste. "Hmm. Hey, Harry, what is this called?" Nanoha inquired, gesturing at the thin slice of dessert on her plate.

"Ah, that's called treacle tart," replied Harry, looking up from his own piece of the dessert to speak up for the first time during the meal.

Nanoha smiled, "It is very good. I should tell my mother to look up a recipe, don't you think so Fate?"

"Hmm?" Fate was too busy chewing to answer, but she nodded emphatically. Once she'd swallowed she replied, "Absolutely. Nanoha's mother and father own a cafe`," she explained to Harry. "Her mother is a superb baker."

Harry seemed to momentarily snap out of his malaise, "Really? Do you think I could…" he paused for a moment, slipping back into his subdued state, "right. Japan. I rather doubt if I'll ever be able to visit."

"Harry, what's wrong?" Fate asked, concern plain on her face. Harry had seemed distracted and depressed since they'd been sorted and joined the group at the Gryffindor table.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it. I'm just a bit tired is all," replied Harry, making it rather clear that he didn't feel like engaging in further discussion of the subject.

The hall began to steadily grow louder as the students, having finished gorging themselves on the finest cuisine that the kitchens could furnish, began focusing more on chatting than eating. Nanoha and Fate were satisfied, if not as stuffed as it seemed most of their new friends were. The conversation at their table had died down a bit earlier, Ron having slipped into a state of food induced bliss, Harry slipping back into his rather guarded and taciturn mood, and Hermione finally running out of questions to ask them though she continued taking periodic glances over as though there were something else she wanted to ask, but wasn't sure how.

Reading that the students had finished eating, Professor Dumbledore once again rose to his feet, the hall instantly lapsing into silence as the students turned to pay attention. The professor quickly ran through a brief list of school rules and faculty updates for the new and veteran students. Nanoha and Fate paid close attention to the rules, wanting to make sure that they would be able to avoid any unnecessary trouble. The list was simple and straight forward, basically boiling down to staying out of the forest and not using magic in the hallways, plus a note to check additional rules on the caretaker's office door.

There were two faculty updates; Professor Grubbly-Plank for "Care of Magical Creatures" and Professor Umbridge for "Defense Against the Dark Arts" were both greeted with polite, if not quite enthusiastic applause. Nanoha and Fate both noticed their new friends exchange a meaningful look regarding one or both of the new professors and resolved to try to find out why sometime later. The headmaster continued on to tryouts for something called Quidditch before being interrupted by the woman in the ugly cardigan.

Nanoha and Fate paid careful attention as they noticed the students' smirks and the disapproving expressions of the staff she'd elicited for interrupting Dumbledore's speech. The woman, only marginally taller standing than seated cleared her voice and began to speak in a breathy, high-pitched voice which set Fate's teeth on edge. She briefly thanked Professor Dumbledore for introducing her and expressed her joy at being back to the school, then spun off into a short speech.

Nanoha had heard many speeches just like it, mostly from politicians. It was full of platitudes, carefully crafted to sound benign, while clearly just painting a thin veneer to cover her purpose in the school. She frowned as she continued listening even as the rest of the students began whispering between themselves while the woman droned on. She spoke for no small period of time on the necessity of balancing change and conservation of customs, re-stating her rather ambiguous position no less than five times throughout the speech. She paused briefly, but just long enough for Nanoha to begin wondering if she were finished speaking before resuming.

"We are proud of our traditions and culture here and while we will work to conserve what should be conserved and to excise what practices we have found to be outdated or detrimental there is another very important factor that we must keep in mind as we work towards the future. While it is important to welcome diversity and new perspectives, it is equally important not to simply over-turn centuries of established practices for the sake of appeasing outside influences. For while understanding and accepting other cultures will undoubtedly strengthen a society, allowing them to dilute your own will lead to failure."

Dumbledore easily managed to keep a neutral expression throughout most of the speech but had to suppress the urge to wince as Dolores Umbridge stated her piece about foreign culture. A quick glance to his side confirmed that Professor McGonagall was similarly discomfited by the remarks. The two of them alone were aware of the fact that their entire society was almost certainly being judged through the lens of the pair of older students that had just been admitted. Proudly announcing your xenophobia in front of a pair of transfer students who were no doubt old enough to understand what was being implied was imbecilic. He hoped that their judgment wouldn't be too harshly colored by the ill-conceived words of this one woman.

There was minimal, somewhat strained applause as Professor Umbridge concluded her speech and both Nanoha and Fate were frowning deeply. The woman had about as much subtlety as a sledge hammer, and she'd publicly announced her intent to single them out. Around them, some of the more savvy students were murmuring about the implications of the woman's words even as Fate and Nanoha politely eavesdropped to gather the students' reactions. Somewhat to their relief, few if any of the students that they could overhear had anything positive to say about the speech or Professor Umbridge's political views.

Hermione directed an apologetic look towards Nanoha and Fate after taking a moment to explain something to Ron, "I know that looked really bad, but please understand that not everyone is like her. I…" Hermione was cut off as the students began standing, "I'm sorry, I've got to guide the first years up to the dorms. I guess that includes you two as well," she said.

[I wonder how much Hermione knows,] Fate thought to Nanoha, [she's been pretty obvious about trying to keep us looking at their society in a positive light.]

[I think she's just been instructed to try to keep us looking at the positive aspects of their culture. I doubt Dumbledore would confide his suspicions in any of the regular students,] replied Nanoha as she and Fate took up the rear of the line as Hermione organized the first years and began leading them out of the dining hall.

[I guess you're right. She's probably just performing the mission without understanding fully why, but I do think she suspects something. Even if she wasn't told, she seems to be pretty bright and she caught a bit of a glimpse of the letter that the Headmaster sent us on the train.]

[Hmm. We'll have to try to figure out how much she knows and what she suspects when we get up to the dormitories then. Come on, we don't want to get left behind, now do we?]

~ MSLN ~

A/N: Okay, since I know that it's going to be a topic of some debate and dissatisfaction among some people, here are the reasons that I sorted both Nanoha and Fate into Gryffindor. Both characters are being sorted when they're older and their personalities are a bit more well-rounded so it was a challenging decision. Both Nanoha and Fate have been in the military for a number of years at this point, which will have helped to temper Nanoha's impetuous nature with tactical planning and will have allowed Fate's personality to develop a bit more away from the influence of Precia. There were also story-writing considerations. The students in Gryffindor are the ones which most people are most familiar with as they have the most exposure throughout the books and movies. They are also the ones, along with only a handful of students from other houses, the ones around whom most of the major plot events in the story revolve.

Each house has a number of traits that they prize most. These traits are not necessarily traits exhibited most by the students chosen for them, but the traits which are valued by the students. Neville is a prime example of this as a Gryffindor, he valued the bravery and daring which were more immediately demonstrated by some of the other students in their first few years. Later on he developed plenty of his own as was demonstrated by his crowning moments of awesome in the final two installments of the series.

Hufflepuff: loyalty, dedication, hard work, fair play, patience

Gryffindor: bravery, daring, nerve, chivalry

Ravenclaw: intelligence, knowledge, wit

Slytherin: ambition, cunning, resourcefulness

Ravenclaw: In general, while both Nanoha and Fate are mathematical geniuses, and while this trait allows the story to progress as it does, it's not really a defining character trait for either of the two. There are only passing references to their mathematical aptitude in any of the source material. Neither of the two are depicted as study-loving bookworms, nor do they define themselves by or particularly pride themselves on their academic pursuits. (Also, both of them kind of sucked at languages when they were younger as is stated in the A's manga.)

Slytherin: The defining personality trait demonstrated throughout the books seems to be ambition more than cunning or resourcefulness. While Nanoha and Fate were motivated, they weren't really driven by personal ambition, not in the same way most of the Slytherin students are depicted as anyway. Hayate could conceivably wind up in Slytherin, as she's depicted as being more interested in promotion than either Nanoha or Fate, having very quickly and intentionally scaled the rank hierarchy in the TSAB military.

Now that those two are out of the way, we'll go character by character.

Nanoha: This was a close race between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Nanoha is loyal to her friends, though it isn't as much a defining characteristic of her personality as it is for Fate. When you think of Nanoha, the first things most people think of are, "befriending" and an almost painful level of straightforwardness (also MAXIMUM DESTRUCTIVE POWER). The reason that befriending became such a defining characteristic isn't so much about Nanoha's love for making friends as her method for making friends which speaks more to her impetuousness than her loyalty.

Fate: Fate really could have gone into either Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, or Ravenclaw. She's as brave as Nanoha, though not as reckless. Fate's personality is defined by her loyalty. In the original series, it was unquestioning loyalty to her abusive mother, later it became loyalty to the TSAB and then to the children that she adopts as well as to Nanoha on a more personal level. If Fate had entered the school without Nanoha to sway her decision she would have ended up in Hufflepuff.

~MSLN~

CrazyLikeArt: I'm glad you liked it and I appreciate your continued patience.

There have been a lot of comments regarding Fate's actions in chapter 5. I'll address it in this response so I don't have to keep re-typing it.

I tried to make it clear in the story that Draco was the one to initiate the physical altercation, namely by grabbing and yanking on Fate's arm and then calling down the goon squad when he fell on his ass. Keeping in mind that Fate hasn't met these three before and doesn't know just what kind of attacks she might face I tried to have her defend herself with as little force as she could, going out of her way to cause no serious damage. Specifically, she threw Draco twice in two varieties of irimi-nage and tagged Crabbe and Goyle using pressure point strikes which in both cases did nothing much more than disorienting them a bit until they could figure out that she wasn't a good target for them to pick on.

SonicAnime2010: I'm glad you liked it. Actually Nanoha and Fate were a little bit of a mixed bag academically. Both are math prodigies, but they got more average grades in their other topics. Ironically enough, Nanoha sucked at phys-ed while Suzuka (quiet purple haired friend with the cats and maids) was the athletic star of the group. Arisa outshone both Nanoha and Fate in Language classes. As for Hermione, well, I think that question was answered in this chapter.

Kiseki no Tenshi: I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading.

Major Mike Powell III: I'm glad you're enjoying it. I've got to admit, I did enjoy writing about Fate delivering a bit a beat down on the goon squad. As for how much Hermione noticed…I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Eidorian999: Thank you for reading. Hope I didn't put you off too much, but as I stated in my explanations, while Nanoha is known for "befriending" it isn't so much about her making friends as her methods for doing so.

Sovereign Beta: Thanks for your compliments. I've never really liked the characterization of Dumbledore as being outright villainous. He's very pragmatic and certainly has some lamentable lapses of judgment throughout the books, but I wouldn't say that he's malicious.

Sandanio: Thanks for reading.

Anonymous NEET: Hmm. In retrospect I think you may be right, but I don't hate it enough to go back and change it right now. I promise, the primary source of angst will be Harry since it's set in OoTP.

HJGZ89: I'm glad you enjoyed it. Here's more. :D

Weeksauce: I'm glad to hear that you've enjoyed this story. Sorry I took so long. Hope I didn't lose your attention.

NoblesseOblige: I'm trying to incorporate a bit more observation from Nano/Fate as you and others suggested, It's a bit of a balance as too much description can make things clunky and inaccessible. Let me know how I'm doing.

Please provide an episode and time citation for your claim regarding the devices. I actually went back and reviewed all 3 series, the manga, and the sound stages to make sure I didn't cock up but I can't find anything as definitive as what you stated. From what I can gather, storage devices do just what they're called and store pre formulated spells for their owners while intelligent devices serve in this capacity but also have additional functions. (Also, if devices didn't help with spell calculation and storing pre defined spells, Nanoha should never have been able to cast ANYTHING when she first picked up Raising Heart as she certainly didn't have a background in the type of mathematics she'd have needed muchless time to actually learn to formulate spells.) Also, the TSAB has a few different ranking systems, Nanoha and Fate are ranked on their combat effectiveness, and Hayate on her raw power. There's also a numerical rank, which gives a more precise value on raw magic power though it's only shown once in the manga.

Random89: Nanoha and Fate aren't really the most subtle of individuals, that's for sure. I was afraid initially that I'd gone overboard with Ron's sloppiness. But then I re-read the book. Kid needs to learn some table manners.

Snowl: At those speeds while you might be able to follow someone's body from a bit of a distance away as they do when flying in aerial combat, seeing the same on a smaller scale with hands moving in a more limited space can be difficult. Failing that, I summon the power of dramatic writing.

007: Glad you're enjoying it Hatter. The dialog is always interesting to write, I've got to say.

Karrin Blue: Thanks for your feedback. I went back to check on the food too actually. My primary impression: Wow, Subaru is a glutton.

Filraen: Regarding the sorting, I went back and forth over that for a decent while. I don't think that even if they weren't sorted right away they would just skip from house to house. Especially with how polarized the houses get in this book.

Pensive: Thanks for reading. Hope you liked how the sorting turned out.

Crosshair: I'm glad you like it so far. I'm going to try as much as I can to keep people in character.

Dylanredefined: Thanks for reading. I hope you liked this chapter as much as the last few.

MissGardenia: Draco initiated the physical conflict actually, Fate pretty much just defended herself. And yep, that's why Hermione was the one to see it. From what I gather, Enforcers are more police than intelligence officers, so I figure that Fate may not be excellent at spying, especially this early in her career.

Kosmos00: I'm glad you're enjoying it. It's a bit difficult to keep the power levels balanced, especially as there are rather differing opinions on just where the two continuities' power levels sit relative to one another.

Eternal Cosmic Sailor Saturn: I'm glad you're liking it. Hope you liked the sorting. (PS, you're my favorite senshi.)

Ryuus2: Feel free to use the wand idea or spin off of it as you like. Sorry it took so long to reply. I felt the same about the stage in Nanoha and Fate's relationship, which I why I opted to start at this stage. 15-16 years old should definitely be good for that first-girlfriend phase.

MWkillkenny84: Glad you like it. We'll see what happens to Umbridge. We'll see…

Musikazen: Glad you're enjoying it and it's nice to know you like how I'm handling the relationship.

D.K.N: Nope, not dead. As for why it took so long… Well, it's a long chapter. Also work and school and such.

Rhavis: Here's the chapter!

Obscure999: Yeah, I don't really like the Dumbledore as an evil mastermind either. Glad you're liking it.

Guest: Well, here's chapter 6. As for Voldemort, we'll see. Keep in mind he's still consolidating power and recovering from being resurrected at this point in time.

Tikigod784: Glad you enjoyed it.

Antlan87: Yep, still updating, if somewhat slowly. I'll try not to be Silmarillion slow as far as the writing style. It's a fine balance between being descriptive enough and being painfully descriptive.

Random89: Life swallowed me, but I ticked its uvula and it coughed me back up.

Jgkitarel: Lol, we'll see. I don't know if anyone in Hogwarts is invested in their mission enough to quite be willing to stand up to a Starlight Breaker.

MangamanZX: Yeah, I did actually keep that in mind as I started writing this after the word came down regarding Dumbledore's sexuality. Trying not to harp on it too much though.

Zero: well, I guess now it has.

Shamanic demonator: Thanks

Lancelot Varianter: Glad you're enjoying yourself. I'll try to update more often in the future.

Faystay: Yep, still working on it. Slowly but surely, though hopefully less slowly now.

KMnorway: Nope, not discontinued and I'm alright. Thanks for reading.

Gnarled Bone: I'm glad you like it.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Nanoha and Fate walked behind Hermione and ahead of the rest of the new students as the bushy haired girl led the group of new students up toward the Gryffindor common room. Ron trailed along as well, though he seemed content to allow Hermione to take on the duty of guiding the first years herself. Nanoha found herself marveling at the sights as they passed along with all of the new students. Talking paintings, moving stairways, and the ghosts weaving about in the air led Nanoha to feel as though she were in a more "magical" magical world than the one she was used to. Her wonderment however didn't completely eclipse her mindset as a trained soldier. She found herself analyzing the timing of the movements of the staircases, the dispositions of the paintings, and the various side passages that they came across, some barely noticeable. She also noticed, and commented on, the conspicuous absence of Harry Potter.

"Oh, I'm sure that he'll join up with us at the common room. We're taking the scenic route at the moment so he may already be there," Hermione informed them. "I think he wanted to dodge some of the negative attention those smear articles have people aiming at him." Nanoha frowned; she'd read some of those articles in her research and they hardly seemed credible. If they were so widely accepted by the people in this community, it didn't say much for their critical thinking skills. But then again, she supposed, people always seemed to be eager to accept what sided with their own biases, regardless of credibility.

It was getting quite late by the time the group of friends climbed the tower towards the Gryffindor common room. Hermione had taken the new students along a more scenic route than would probably normally be taken between the great hall and the Gryffindor quarters. Nanoha and Fate were keeping mostly to themselves as they ascended staircase after staircase, trying to take in as much of their environment as possible as well as memorizing the labyrinthine route to the portrait which led to their quarters. Nanoha and Fate were only mildly surprised now when the Fat Lady asked for the entrance password.

The common room was warmly lit and furnished, the lively fire on the hearth casting a comforting light over the room. The boys bid a polite farewell as they ascended one set of stairs towards the back of the room. Hermione led Fate and Nanoha up another stairway and through a door a bit of the way down a hallway which emerged into an almost barracks like set of sleeping quarters. There were 5 beds spaced evenly along the length of the room, all of them complete with a canopy and curtains for privacy when it was needed. The two closest beds were already occupied. The girls who'd laid claim to them had already changed into their sleepwear and were sitting on opposite ends of one of their beds, chatting and apparently playing a card game. They looked up from their discussion as the door opened and stood to greet the new pair of students.

Hermione turned to face her new room mates, "Nanoha, Fate, let me introduce you to Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown," she said, gesturing at them in turn, "they'll be sharing this room as well." Fate flushed slightly and shuffled her feet while Nanoha stepped forward to shake hands with their newly introduced room mates. After a moment, Fate followed Nanoha's lead and greeted Lavender and Parvati as her friend had. After a brief silence, Hermione once again piped up, "Well, I'm sure it's been a long day for both of you, feel free to change into something more comfortable and get some sleep if you like."

Nanoha and Fate gratefully nodded their acknowledgement and walked to the two beds on the far end of the room which had rucksacks sitting at their feet rather than trunks. Failing to see any storage or shelving larger than a nightstand, Nanoha commented, "I guess there's a reason for the trunks then," as she started digging through her bag for a nightgown. After a few moments she found what she was looking for and, laying the plain garment out on the bed, started undressing. Fate followed suit after a brief hesitation.

The three other girls in the room, not accustomed to such openness, averted their gazes. Lavender and Parvati immersed themselves enthusiastically in their card game and Hermione concentrated on digging her own sleepwear out of her trunk. Nanoha and Fate seemed not to notice the discomfort of the other girls and chatted animatedly between themselves about the day's events so far. Hermione, having found her sleepwear looked up to check on the progress of the newcomers. To her distress, they didn't seem to be in any hurry to get dressed and were simply standing and chatting with their backs to her. The analytical part of her mind taking back over, she noted that both of them looked to be in superb physical condition. Frowning slightly, Hermione looked down at herself; she seldom felt self-conscious about her own body, but seeing the level of fitness of the two girls in front of her she felt a bit jealous.

Hermione was surprised that the new students seemed to have no qualms about getting changed in front of a group of (albeit female) strangers. A glint of light at the edges of her vision caused her to look up and she gasped in surprise at what she saw. Running down Nanoha's back was a mighty scar, just to the right of her spine and running down ten inches or so from where it started between her shoulder blades. Nanoha turned around to see where the noise had come from and Hermione's jaw dropped as she saw the matching scar on the front of Nanoha's torso.

Nanoha turned to find Hermione staring at her, mouth slightly agape. It took her a moment to realize that the girl was staring at her scars rather than at her chest. "Ahaha, pretty impressive, right? I was in a car accident when I was younger, I almost did not make it. I am fine now though, no lasting damage." Nanoha smiled and flexed her arms a bit to demonstrate her health. Hermione blushed deeply as Nanoha's flexing caused her other assets to shift. Nanoha looked puzzled for a moment as to why the girl in front of her had gone tongue tied.

"Nanoha," said Fate as she walked over, now wearing a soft pink nightgown, "I don't think they're used to changing in front of each other here." She laughed a little at Hermione's stunned expression, "I think maybe you should put your pajamas on before poor Hermione faints." She turned to Hermione, "Don't worry, we'll change behind our bed curtains from now on. We didn't realize it'd bother you."

Hermione shook her head, "It's alright, I was just a bit surprised really," she said somewhat unconvincingly as she tried to collect herself. "It's just a minor cultural difference to get used to." A brief silence followed which Hermione used to escape to her curtained bed to change into her own bed clothes. Emerging a short time later, she approached Nanoha and Fate where they were sitting on their beds facing each other and chatting. "Do you have any questions about anything so far?" she asked.

Fate and Nanoha shared a look for a moment. There were plenty of questions they had, but most of them weren't regarding things that their guide could probably explain such as the mechanics behind the moving pictures and whether they were sentient, or who built most of the structures they had seen since the educational system didn't seem to prioritize math or science. After a moment pondering questions that Hermione would be able to answer for them, Nanoha spoke up. "What time is curfew? I noticed that it seemed like all of the students were heading straight back to their dormitories after dinner. Also is there a wakeup call or is it fine to wake up when ever as long as you are at breakfast?"

Hermione nodded at the question, "Curfew for older students is 21:00 however it's generally expected that students will spend the time after supper in the dormitories studying and socializing with their housemates. There is no lights-out time however. Most of the time students don't wander the castle unless they have some reason to. There's no set wake-up time, but breakfast starts at 7:30 and classes start at 9."

"Are there restrictions on being out on the grounds early? We're used to taking morning runs," asked Fate.

Hermione thought for a moment before answering, "You know, I really have no idea. I don't think that anybody else in the school right now is given to morning calisthenics so it's never come up. Would you be alright taking a day off just to be safe? I'll ask one of the professors about it tomorrow."

"That would be fine. It has been a long day, I think a chance to rest up for tomorrow would be a good idea," Fate replied, stifling a yawn. Nodding their agreement, all three girls headed toward their own beds. Nanoha and Fate were quickly tucked in, facing one another and discussing the events of the day so far. Hermione headed to her own bed and drew the curtains. It wouldn't do for the new girls to see their Prefect staying up in order to have a clandestine meeting with her friends in the middle of the night.

~MSLN~

Hermione groaned to herself. Didn't these girls ever go to sleep? It wasn't that their subdued whispering was keeping her awake, but rather that she couldn't sneak out to meet up with Harry and Ron while they were up. Resigning herself to waiting for tomorrow when hopefully the night of short sleep would lead the two new girls to fall asleep sooner she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. After a few minutes Hermione was brought out of her doze by the soft sound of footfalls in the direction of the newcomers' beds. "Is she finally asleep?" came Nanoha's voice.

"I think so," replied fate, also whispering. Hermione strained to hear the conversation, Fate was quiet enough when speaking normally. She was barely audible now.

"Should we wait a bit longer, or do you want to get started now?" Nanoha again. She sounded a bit excited, Hermione thought. Oh no…it couldn't be.

"I think it should be safe. Do you want to go first tonight, or should I?" asked Fate. Hermione could feel her face flushing as she slowly brought her hand up to cover her mouth.

"You can go first, it's your turn after all," Nanoha's voice came, this time tinged with a bit of disappointment.

"Oh, alright. I wanted to check out the forbidden forest anyway," replied Fate, her tone slightly teasing.

"Good luck down there."

Hermione tried as well as she could to block out the conversation she was hearing and to ignore the visions that her imagination was conjuring. The sounds she was hearing didn't seem to match what she was expecting, only further inflaming her curiosity. There was a brief flash of yellow light, bright enough that she was able to tell through her eyelids. Finally, her willpower gave in and she dared to try slightly opening one of her eyes for a moment. The sight which greeted her was the furthest thing from what she'd expected. Fate was dressed in what looked like a suit, with a blazer on top and a skirt on bottom, a flowing cape billowing from her shoulders in the breeze coming in through the open window. Then, without any sign of hesitation, the blonde girl leapt out of the window.

Hermione bolted out of bed with a startled cry as she rushed to the window without thinking. Sticking her head out she was shocked to find no visible trace anywhere near the window of the girl who had just jumped through. She shook her head, wondering for a moment if she'd dozed off and dreamt the whole thing. Quickly turning to look to her left she saw that both of the new girls' beds were empty. She knew she'd seen Fate leap from the window, but she could have sworn that Nanoha was still in the room. That's as far as her thoughts got before a black gloved hand was clamped over her mouth and Hermione found herself very quickly whisked through the open window into the cool night air.

Instinctively, Hermione struggled to get loose, her shouts of protest being muffled by the hand held firmly over her mouth. "Mou, please stop struggling. We are not going to hurt you. If you fall, I am ninety-nine percent certain that I could catch you without injury, but we should not risk it if we do not have to."

Gradually, Hermione stopped struggling, more out of resignation than regard for the request; the slender arms which held her seemed to be as immovable as though they were made of steel. "That's better. Do you promise not to scream again if I remove my hand?" Hermione nodded and moments later felt the hand over her mouth slowly being removed. As she calmed down a little, she noticed that the strength of the wind buffeting her face didn't seem to match the speed at which they seemed to be flying.

"How can you be flying without a broom?" Hermione asked, her curiosity momentarily overtaking her fear.

"I'll explain everything. Do you know of a place where we can have a private conversation?"

Hermione thought for a moment. At this time of night there shouldn't be any students wandering the grounds, though there would be periodic patrols by the staff, most notably Filch and possibly Hagrid if they were out on the grounds. She was more concerned with Filch than Hagrid, as he had a bad habit of showing up at just the wrong moments. "Set us down over there but stay out of range of the tree," said Hermione, gesturing at the whomping willow.

Nanoha obeyed without question, quickly gathering why Hermione had specified their distance from the tree when the piece of overly-aggressive shrubbery attempted to reach out and attack her when she flew by. She circled twice, well out of reach of the reaching branches, before setting down on the path a safe distance from the tree. "Alright," said Nanoha, setting Hermione down, "give me a moment to call Fate."

[Fate, we got caught,] Nanoha messaged. [I'm over by the big tree with Hermione, be careful on the approach, it's…aggressive.]

[Okay, I'm on my way in,] Fate replied, managing to sound resigned, even over the psychic link. [I'll be there in just a moment.]

"Alright, she will be here in just a moment," Nanoha informed Hermione.

"How did you contact her? You didn't do anything," inquired Hermione, sounding puzzled.

Nanoha smiled at her and gestured to her head, "Telepathy. We can… Oh, here she comes!" Nanoha interrupted herself and gestured toward the sky in the general direction of the Forbidden forest. Hermione had to strain her eyes for a moment before she noticed a rapidly glowing yellow spark. It looked like it was moving very fast. Her eyes widened as Fate approached more quickly than she'd thought possible for magical flight.

Fate flared as she approached and set down neatly a few feet in front of the waiting girls. "I cannot believe we have only been here for a day and already our cover has been blown," she murmured. "I guess we aren't really cut out for this kind of mission."

"It's alright Fate-chan," Nanoha said, patting her on the shoulder gently. "We just need to decide what to do next. Hermione," she said, shifting her attention to the bushy haired girl who was staring at them both with puzzlement evident on her features, "you said you knew of some place we could have a private conversation near here?"

"It's through there," Hermione said, pointing at the barely visible passage under the tree. "We have to hit the knot next to the tunnel to disable the tree long enough to get through." She looked to the pair of new girls as they exchanged glances. Something unspoken seemed to pass between them as both nodded and Fate stepped next to Hermione and looped an arm around her waist. Hermione felt herself suddenly lifted and propelled forward, but before she could react, found herself already standing in the tunnel beneath the tree. "Th…there's only one path," she stammered, trying to keep her composure as she led the way down the narrow dirt tunnel into the Shrieking Shack.

Nanoha and fate looked around the inside of the dilapidated structure and quickly determined that magic was probably the only thing holding the structure up. Somewhat nervously, the two sat themselves on the remnants of a sofa while Hermione situated herself on the ruined bed across from them. "So, do you have any questions that you would like to ask us?" inquired Fate.

Hermione thought, and thought, yet while she knew she should be able to come up with more relevant, more important questions, the same thing kept floating to the front of her mind. She sighed, resigned to the fact that for some reason she seemed unable to come up with any better questions until this one was answered. "What the letter said…is…are you…" unable to finish her question, she suddenly found her shoes very interesting.

"Yes. We're together. Does that…bother you?" Hermione looked up at the sound of Nanoha's reply to see the two girls holding hands with nervous looks on their faces, as though her opinion of their relationship were significant to them. Hermione emphatically shook her head in response.

"No, I don't mind. I just… I've never met any girls who were into other girls. I don't know how I should act."

"Just act normally. I mean, other than that, I imagine we're probably pretty similar. It's only one part of who we are," Fate responded. "It took a while for our families and friends back home to get used to the idea too. I…we know that this society has rules about this sort of thing."

There was another period of silence. Neither Nanoha and Fate nor Hermione had any experience with situations quite like this one and all of them were at a loss for what to say next. After the silence had extended long enough to become distinctly uncomfortable for all parties involved Hermione spoke up. "So what now," she asked, apprehensively looking at the pair of new students. "Are you going to kill me?"

"No! Mou, of course not," Nanoha replied emphatically. "We just…" she paused to think for a moment. "We want to…what do we want to do?" she asked, looking to Fate.

"Well, we need to ask for your secrecy, at least for a few days until we are told what we need to do about this by our superiors," Fate said confidently. At Hermione's concerned expression, she continued, "You will probably be given a choice, either to be sworn to secrecy, or possibly to become a civilian collaborator. Until then we would like to request that you keep all of this to yourself, though we cannot really do anything to enforce it."

"Civilian collaborator? So you're military then?"

Fate sighed a bit in consternation, "You really are perceptive, you know that?" she noted. "I think we may need to decide how to deal with this now rather than later. You are too canny for us to leave this up in the air for any longer than is necessary. Hold on a moment please while I contact Chrono." Hermione could tell when Fate's attention shifted away from her or anything else in the room they were sitting in. She figured that communicating via telepathy probably required some degree of concentration.

The trio sat in silence for a few moments, Hermione's attention settling on the foreign girls' entwined hands momentarily before very intentionally diverting her gaze elsewhere. She barely registered Nanoha giving her a knowing smile before focusing on her own hands, folded in her lap. Her head snapped up as the room was overtaken by a white glow, emanating from an incredibly complicated looking magical diagram in the center of the floor. She had to look away as the glow became overpoweringly bright, and when she was able to look back there was an imposing looking man standing where the diagram had been.

He looked around briefly, eyes scanning the room before a skeptical expression briefly passed his features. Finally his gaze settled on Hermione. Chrono extended his hand, which she took after a moment's hesitation. "I'm Rear Admiral Chrono Harlaown of the TSAB," he introduced himself. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Granger."

"Oh, um, likewise Sir," Hermione replied, slightly annoyed with herself for stumbling over her own words.

"So," he began with a grin, "you must be the one who discovered why neither of these two were recruited to be intelligence agents." He glanced toward the girls briefly as Nanoha stuck her tongue out at him.

"Mou, Chrono," Nanoha complained, as Fate tittered to herself.

"That's Admiral Chrono, Lieutenant. We're on duty right now, remember?" Chrono replied, but there was no bite to his words.

Chrono turned his attention back to Hermione. "Thank you for agreeing to watch over my sister and her friend."

Hermione wasn't really sure what tone she'd expected the meeting to take, but this certainly wasn't it. The man in front of her seemed to be the commanding officer but was treating to the two girls more like younger siblings than subordinates. "Excuse my asking," she began, "but if they aren't intelligence agents, why were they sent?"

Nanoha looked at Hermione somewhat ruefully before responding, "Earth is something of a backwater to our organization. There are very few people with even a passing familiarity with the planet or its cultures. Fate and I, having grown up in Japan were immediately tapped as the only people who would have any idea how to conduct ourselves in your society."

Hermione considered that reply for a moment before coming to a realization about the wording they'd been using. "Wait, so you mean to tell me that you're not just foreign to the wizarding world, but you're also foreign to the Earth?!" Hermione exclaimed, her eyes going wide.

"Well, two of us are," replied Chrono. "Nanoha was born and raised on Earth and Fate has spent the last six years living and going to school here."

"I…Are you…I mean what…" Hermione fumbled for a question to ask. She could feel herself shaking, her breathing growing shallow. Here she was, sitting in the shrieking shack with a group of people who claimed to be extraterrestrial and showed impossible magical abilities. The situation was surreal. Her mind was running in circles trying to figure out what to ask or say next.

"Okay," Chrono began, "Some common answers to common questions. Yes, we're human. No, we're not going to kill you. No, we don't want anyone else to know quite yet. Yes, we're going to make a formal diplomatic overture in the near future. No, we're not here to invade your world. Our mission right now is primarily to gather information on your society."

Hermione tried to hold on to her rapidly failing calm demeanor. She was making contact with a group of aliens right outside of Hogwarts grounds. They claimed to be and appeared to be human and they'd been on earth for at least six years. Hermione could feel herself dissolving into a shaking wreck as her mind spun out of control. She barely registered it when Nanoha sat down on the bed next to her and asked if she was alright. "I…What…But you…" Hermione continued to stammer.

"Shh, calm down. You're going to have a panic attack at this rate," she heard Nanoha say. It was already too late, Hermione could feel herself hyperventilating and the tears starting to stream down her face. It really was all too much to take in so quickly. She heard herself let out a sob as the world seemed to spin around her.

Hermione came out of her stupor to find herself lying in Nanoha's lap, the Asian girl stroking her hair and murmuring soft reassurances. Fate was in front of them, kneeling or crouching on the floor, holding her hand with a concerned look on her face. Slowly, Hermione pushed herself back up to a sitting position, her head throbbing. She could feel the other girls supporting her as she wiped the last remaining tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry. This is all just so much to take in."

"It's alright," Fate said softly, "You're hardly the first one to be overwhelmed by all this."

Hermione looked up at Nanoha, "How did you cope with all of this when you found out?"

Nanoha laughed a bit before replying, "I just sort of rolled with it. I was only nine at the time though, so I guess I was a little more open to the idea of something fantastic as this happening." Hermione eyed her with a mix of skepticism and amazement.

"So what happens now?" asked Hermione, her voice still shaky.

"Well, you have two options," began Chrono, "The first is to accept being sworn to secrecy using magic roughly akin to your fidelius charm. You sign an agreement, then go on living your life as you have been."

Hermione mentally dismissed that option out of hand. It would be impossible to just go back to living and behaving the way things had been before she'd learned about all of this. The idea that there was some sort of intergalactic magical society was just too profound of a change. "and the other?"

"The other is to become a civilian collaborator."

"What exactly would that entail?"

"Well, you'd still have to sign a non-disclosure agreement, though it would be legally binding rather than magically binding and you would be permitted to give limited information about your job and position to your immediate family. Your responsibilities would largely cover what you've already been assigned to do by your headmaster, in addition to reporting on your own insights and experiences. You would also receive a salary, though I couldn't tell you what that would be off the top of my head. Were you to decide to enlist later, your time served as a contractor would count toward your mandatory service period."

Hermione mulled that over for a moment. This was a chance to get inside this new group and get some idea of what it was they were doing on Earth. It was also dangerous she realized. Could she balance being involved in two secret organizations at once? What would she do if they found out about the Order? Having no idea what other telepathic abilities these people possessed worried her, though she supposed if they wanted to they could be reading through her memories even now without her noticing. Needing to buy herself more time to decide what she would do she asked, "What can you tell me about your organization and your intentions toward Earth?"

Chrono nodded in approval, this girl was very astute. "The Time Space Administration Bureau or TSAB is an interplanetary government spanning over 100 administrated worlds where the TSAB serves as the primary government and hundreds more non-administrated worlds. For reference, Earth is referred to as non-administrated world #97. For non-administrated worlds, we mainly monitor for emergencies and intervene only when local authorities would be incapable of containing an incident.

"Our mission on Earth right now was to be primarily information gathering. We're trying to determine whether we should make contact with Earth, who we should make contact with if we do, and how best we would go about it. Presently that means our your role, as well as that of Lieutenants Harlaown and Takamachi are more along the lines of observing than spying."

"You said that your mission WAS to be primarily information gathering. That's changed since you got here?"

"Correct. You really are very sharp." Chrono complimented her, "We have learned of the presence of a dangerous enemy on your world, an enemy which we have been working to neutralize for quite some time. Nanoha and Fate have the additional duty of defending the school against any extra-planetary threats that may be encountered. Aiding them in combat would NOT be one of your responsibilities. These two are expert combatants and should be able to handle almost any threat without requiring outside aid.

"Can you tell me more about the threat?" A danger serious enough to cause concern for a group of trained military personnel was certainly worth asking about, especially if it might also be a threat to the Order or its members.

"Unfortunately I cannot. If you were to join us as a contracted civilian I could share some minimal details. Any more specific information we can't share with you unless you were to decide to enlist and pass screening for a security clearance."

"If you don't mind my saying," Hermione replied, "I think it would be a good idea to speak to the headmaster about all of this. He's very influential and well respected, even with the smear campaign the Ministry seems to be embarking on, and he should probably know about any potential dangers to the school."

"We're already planning on it, though it won't be for another few days. There are some bureaucratic steps that need to be taken when making formal contact with a new society. Based on what we've been able to learn from the texts and periodicals we were able to acquire, we believe that Albus Dumbledore is the best route through which to introduce ourselves into your world. We are hoping that he will be able to make our introduction to the Ministry go more smoothly." He noticed Hermione making a face at the mention of the Ministry so he elaborated, "We are aware of the…political tensions and are hoping that by making contact through the headmaster we can help shift the balance of power toward a less xenophobic faction."

Hermione considered this for a few moments before inquiring, "If I were to join you, would I be able to learn more about your type of magic and technology?"

"Yes to both, though whether you will be able to perform our type of magic is unknown. We aren't presently certain whether witches or wizards will be able to wield Mid-Childan magic, though we would welcome you to try."

Hermione sat and considered for a moment. It really was a lot to take in. The temptation to accept the offer to become a collaborator was almost irresistible. She felt almost as giddy as she'd been when she first received her Hogwarts Letter. Here she was getting a once in a lifetime chance, again! Another type of magic, entire new worlds to learn about… Hermione realized that she'd made up her mind already. "Okay," she said to Chrono, "I'm in. Where do I sign?


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione groggily hauled herself out of bed and to her trunk to get her uniform for the day. It had been a long night, she reflected, even longer than most of the nights she'd spent traipsing about the castle with Harry and Ron. Learning that there was other sentient life in the universe was certainly a ground-breaking revelation, much less that the other sentient life was human and magically advanced. She smiled to herself as she ran through her memories of the previous night while she dressed. Once she'd gotten over her initial shock, she'd been taken up to a ship orbiting the moon.

In retrospect, Hermione wasn't sure what she had expected a magical spacecraft to be like but whatever she might have thought to expect was nothing like what she had found. The ship she was taken to was like something straight out of Star Trek, seemingly all technology and no obvious magic. She'd been completely shocked when informed that the technology in the ship was using magic as a power source rather than electricity as she'd originally assumed. One of the women she'd been introduced to during her quick tour of the ship had offered to send her more information on the basic workings of their magical technology, and offer which she had quickly and enthusiastically accepted.

She had actually cried a bit at seeing Earth from space for the first time, something she was told was common for people to do. Chrono had informed her that Nanoha had done the same, all those years ago, and that even he had been a bit misty eyed at seeing his home world from space for the first time, though that had been Mid-Childa rather than Earth. Once she'd had the chance to collect herself again, she was escorted to a conference room where she was provided with some paperwork to fill out and her service contract to sign.

Hermione had learned early in life that one should always read the fine print when signing a contract of any kind, a habit which had earned her an approving nod from Admiral Chrono for her thoroughness and caution. She had spent over two hours pouring over the details of the service contract she'd been provided with, often having to stop and ask questions of Nanoha and Fate who tried to answer all of her inquiries as accurately as possible and had helpfully provided her with paper and a pen with which to take notes. Finally, exhausted and bleary eyed, Hermione had scanned through her notes one final time before taking a deep breath and putting her signature to the contract in front of her.

By then Hermione was quite exhausted and upon being promised she could ask all the questions she wanted some other time, agreed to head back to the Gryffindor dormitories. Chrono had informed her on her way back to the teleporter that she would still need to go through a debriefing on what had been transpiring over the last few years in the wizarding world but that Nanoha and Fate would be the ones to conduct the interview some time in the next few days. Finally, she stepped onto the glowing pad at the back of the bridge along with Nanoha and Fate and in a flash of light found herself back in their dormitory. She didn't even remember changing for bed.

Now fully dressed, and at least somewhat more awake, Hermione headed down to the common room where Nanoha was idly flipping through a copy of "Hogwarts: A History" and Fate was examining a poster which had been put up. Both looked up from what they were doing as she entered. "Good morning Hermione," Fate said turning to face the new recruit, "Did you sleep well?"

"Um, not really actually. I was too excited," replied Hermione, smiling gently.

"I can certainly understand that. It is a lot to take in, especially in such a short period of time," commented Nanoha as she closed her book and stood. "Should we head to breakfast?"

"Oh, yes. And um, thank you for waiting for me,"

"It was no problem. It would seem that aside from us, you are still the first one awake." she had barely finished speaking when one of the boys she wasn't familiar with came stomping down the stairs and swept through the common room to the exit without paying the group of girls any heed. "It looks like he woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

Hermione nodded her agreement as she took a quick glance at the poster on the wall that Fate had been examining when she'd come down. Her expression quickly soured as she read the text. "Those two really have gone too far. Testing their pranks on themselves is one thing, but soliciting other students to be lab rats…" she threw her arms up in frustration. "I'm going to have to get Ron and talk to them about this later," she grumbled as she attempted to pull down the poster without much luck. After a moment she had to give up and sighed in resignation. "Come on, let's head down to breakfast," she said as she started heading toward the exit.

The three girls headed down to the dining hall at a leisurely pace to give them a chance to talk in private while they walked. Nanoha and Fate carefully memorizing the more direct route they took back down to the main hall from their dormitory. "Hermione, do you know what we are going to be doing today?" asked Fate.

"I'm not entirely certain to be honest. The headmaster did say that you would be viewing some of the first year classes to start with and then have some private tutoring, though I'm not sure what the details of the schedule will be. You'll probably get the details from Professor McGonagall at breakfast."

"So," Nanoha whispered, taking a quick glance around to make sure nobody was within eavesdropping range, "how did you like seeing Earth from space for the first time?"

"That was amazing!" Hermione replied exuberantly, trying with limited success to keep her voice below a shout, "It was one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had. I can't even describe all of the emotions I felt," that of course didn't stop her from trying to describe them all the way up until they reached the dining hall. Nanoha and Fate had to stop her a few times to ask the meanings of some of the less common adjectives that she used.

The hall was mostly empty when the trio arrived, with only a few smatterings of students at each of the tables. The emptiness seemed to be emphasized by the gloomy weather being shown by the enchanted ceiling. Breakfast had already been served, plates heaped with bacon and sausages and pancakes were placed at regular intervals. After some searching, Nanoha and Fate helped themselves to some scrambled eggs and fruit.

Professor McGonagall approached the group shortly after they'd arrived and handed each of the girls a sheet of parchment. Nanoha and Fate both had identical schedules, as they had expected, featuring preview sessions of first year classes in the mornings and a few periods of private evaluation and instruction in the afternoons. Hermione's letter had a little more information to it, including a note in addition to her regular schedule. She was to accompany the new students and help them along as best she could for the first week. The faculty was confident that she would be able to catch up easily on what material she'd missed.

Hermione felt a bit torn. She was excited to be able to help the two new students and hopefully to learn from them. On the other hand, this meant that she'd be able to spend less time with Harry and Ron. Ron might not mind too much, but things seemed to be Eating at Harry and she wanted to be able to help support him when she could.

"Miss Granger, may I speak with you for a moment?" asked professor McGonagall gesturing for Hermione to follow her.

"Of course Professor." replied Hermione, getting up from her seat and following her favorite professor away from the table.

"How are the new students settling in? Has there been any difficulty?" the elderly witch asked, turning around to face her favorite pupil.

"No, professor. They both seem to be adjusting well to everything but the food so far." Hermione reassured her. It was no lie either. Both of the new girls seemed to be having no trouble memorizing the paths between locations in the castle or avoiding the minor traps here and there that she avoided without even thinking now.

"The food?" The professor inquired, cocking her head slightly to the side in puzzlement.

"The British diet is significantly heavier than what they're used to. It will just take them a few days to adjust, I'm sure," responded Hermione. "They seem to be consciously easing themselves into things," she mused as she looked back at the two girls who seemed to be trying to take a bite or two of meat or eggs for every few of fruit.

"I see," replied McGonagall, nodding in understanding. "You may want to bring them by the kitchens to see if the cooks can prepare something more to their liking. There should be enough free space in their schedules to fit that in easily."

"I'll make sure we get there," replied Hermione, making a mental note to get down to the kitchens after morning classes.

"Good. There is one more thing. Be very careful around Madame Umbridge, we both know who she works for and what her prejudices are. We cannot afford to lose those two new students due to her and her opinions. I am afraid I can't tell you why, but it is important that those two girls decide to continue attending school here."

Hermione's expression sobered, "I'll do my best, Professor," she stated with a calm she didn't feel. Suddenly, Hermione found herself very much torn in her loyalties. Professor McGonagall's request implied that she and therefore the Headmaster knew something about who the two new students really were. She was obligated by the contract she'd signed last night to let them know, but she felt like she'd be betraying the trust of her favorite professors in doing so.

If Professor McGongall noticed Hermione's unease, she didn't acknowledge it in any way. Smiling down at her favorite student she reassured Hermione, "I'm sure you will, dear girl. I have every confidence in you." Hermione could feel her gut twist as she forced herself to smile in return and thank the professor before heading back toward the Gryffindor table where her two new friends were waiting. She took a deep breath and tried to put on a neutral expression as she headed back toward the Gryffindor table. Nanoha and Fate both looked up at her approach, Fate immediately putting on a concerned look.

"Is something wrong, Hermione?" asked Nanoha as she scooted over a bit and gestured for Hermione to take a seat between her and Fate. Hermione shook her head rather unconvincingly as she sat down and poured herself a glass of juice.

"No, no. Everything is fine. It's just," she paused as the words just wouldn't come to her.

"Hermione," Fate said, her voice barely above a whisper, "We know that the headmaster has at least some faint idea of what our mission is here. If Professor McGonagall intimated that she thinks we need to be monitored, we already know." Fate knew her suspicions were correct when Hermione's head snapped up and she found the obviously conflicted brunette looking into her eyes for confirmation. Fate smiled reassuringly in response and gestured at the table in front of her where Nanoha had just placed the letter she'd caught a glimpse of on the train.

Hermione looked at both girls in turn and when both nodded their unspoken assent, she gently unfolded the piece of parchment before her and started reading. Both Nanoha and Fate smiled kindly at the now slightly flushed Hermione as she re-folded the parchment and handed it back to Nanoha for safe keeping. "With how important this seems to be to them, your professors are putting a lot of faith and trust in your abilities, Hermione. I don't think that they'll tell you much more than you or we already know about why they'd like us to continue attending school here however, so try not to worry over it too much," Fate attempted to reassure her.

"But if they knew who you really are…" Hermione mused.

"It might be good or it might be bad. I don't think that they would take action against us, but learning that there is another player in the picture might trigger rash actions by people on either side of the conflict your society has been involved in," Fate interjected, "We may very well decide to publically announce our presence, but that decision is up to Admiral Chrono and High Command and won't come about until a lot more is known about this society and all of the social and political forces at work."

Hermione seemed to accept that and went to work on eating her own breakfast and memorizing her class schedule. Nanoha and Fate continued to pick at their breakfasts and make small-talk while Hermione ate. "I hope guiding us around doesn't put you too far behind in your studies," said Fate, concern written all over her features.

"Don't worry about it," Hermione said with a smile, "The first week of classes is usually mostly review and I shouldn't have much trouble catching up since I read all of this years texts over the summer already."

Nanoha blinked and stared at her, "You read all of this year's class materials in addition to taking normal non-magical courses?"

"As though her education schedule is that much more daunting than your training, Nanoha," Fate teased her girlfriend. "I'd bet this week's salary that she's running a combat simulation in her head right now," she commented to Hermione.

"Mou, Faaate," Nanoha whined good naturedly in response to the gentle jibe. Now it was Hermione's turn to stare.

"You're running combat simulations while eating and having a conversation?" Hermione asked, disbelief in her voice. "Wait, how are you? In your head? How does that work?"

"It's not that difficult really," said Nanoha, while Fate rolled her eyes a little. Hermione giggled a little at that. "I'll explain it later, it looks like we have company," Nanoha promised with a grin on her face. Hermione was about to ask what she meant by "company" when she suddenly found her vision blocked by a pair of slender hands.

"Good morning Ginny," Hermione said with a smile as she turned to face the girl who'd snuck up on her. Nanoha and Fate followed suit a moment later and invited Ginny to join them. Ginny grinned and after a quick glance around to make sure nobody would notice vaulted over the table to sit opposite the three older girls earning herself an eye roll from Hermione and brief applause from the other two girls.

"Good morning Hermione, Nanoha, Fate," said Ginny, nodding at each in turn as she reached for a plate of pancakes and began to serve herself breakfast. "Sleep well?"

"We got to bed a little late," admitted Nanoha, "we lost track of time talking about how different everything is here. I slept like a baby once we actually went to bed, however."

"I can imagine everything must be so different here from what you're used to," Ginny said excitedly. "I really want to explore the muggle world some time to see how different everything is for myself one day. Dad keeps saying he'll take me around London eventually but it keeps not happening.

"Really Ginny? You'd be interested in something like that?" asked Hermione, a touch of surprise in her tone. Ron had never demonstrated anything but an enforced disinterest in any muggle technology or knowledge. "You know you could always come visit me over the summer while I'm staying with my parents if you'd like."

"Of course I'd be interested. I mean, I've been brought up around all sorts of muggle technology my dad's been trying to figure out," replied Ginny.

"You know," Hermione remarked thoughtfully, "It'd probably be helpful if we got your dad a physics textbook to look through. It would cover some of the basic ideas behind a lot of the things he's asked my parents about when they've met." Seeing Ginny's glowing smile she resolved to do just that. She could probably get her parents to pitch in too seeing as it would save her father having to keep explaining how audio signals were transmitted between telephones.

It was then that Harry and Ron joined them, Harry looking particularly downtrodden. The two boys sat down next to Ginny, Ron voraciously helping himself to every item of food within reach, and a few not within reach, and Harry simply picking slowly at the plate of pancakes that Ginny had pulled over toward them earlier.

"Harry, is everything alright?" asked Fate in her best "concerned big sister" voice. It was obvious that he was feeling troubled, and she couldn't help but be concerned for the young man in front of her. She didn't want to assume things, but she had a feeling that his foul mood might be related to the smear campaign they had noticed running in the periodicals. Harry had just opened his mouth to reply when the air was suddenly filled with the flapping of innumerable wings as the morning mail arrived. A light drizzle rained down upon the seated students as the owls' wings shed some of the moisture they'd carried in from outside.

Fate felt that her suspicions were largely confirmed based on the reactions Harry and Ron had to Hermione's receipt of a copy of the Daily Prophet. Even after explaining to the two boys that it was best to know what was going on in the minds of an adversary, the heavy mood hung like a shadow over the remainder of the meal. Fate and Nanoha were both still trying to defuse the tense atmosphere when Hermione announced that they needed to start heading towards their first class of the day. After getting Harry to reassure them that he'd be okay until later, the trio of girls got up from the table and headed toward the dungeons for their first potions class, not so subtly followed by a small group of first years who didn't want to get lost on the way.

~MSLN~

Again, thanks everyone for reading and reviewing. I hope you liked this chapter even though it was a bit on the short side and not all that much happened. Next chapter will have some classes, some interviews, and lots of everyone's least favorite staff member.


	9. Chapter 9

Hermione, Nanoha, and Fate arrived at the potions classroom with plenty of time to spare and took seats at a bench toward the rear of the room so as not to obscure the view of the much shorter first years who had started arriving along with them. Hearing that Professor Snape was a bit on the strict side, they had made sure to get to the dungeon a bit early. They took the time before class began to review the potions text. With only seconds before class was to start professor Snape swept into the classroom, robes flaring about him as he marched to the front of the classroom. He turned abruptly once he reached his desk, and focused his predatory gaze upon his pupils.

Nanoha and Fate listened carefully to the rehearsed speech about the merits of potioneering and Nanoha had to suppress a snicker as she found the term, "dunderheads," to be amusing. If professor Snape took any notice of the visiting student's mirth, he showed no sign of it. He began the class with a rapid-fire quiz on the properties of various reagents used in potion making which resulted in Gryffindor losing two points due to the first years not knowing any of the answers. The Slytherin students didn't have any better luck with their replies but did not lose any house points.

After concluding the quiz with a few snide comments about the intellectual abilities of the students, he declared that the class would then concoct a cure for boils and magically put the instructions up on the blackboard at the front of the room. Watching with a critical eye, he stood back as the first years set up their cauldrons and went to the supply cabinet for their ingredients. As soon as the students began working, he drifted from table to table like a phantom, terrorizing the Gryffindor first years with sharp rebukes for any errors and surly silence in response to success. The Slytherins received some light praise and far less criticism.

Nanoha glanced at Hermione, [Is he alway this biassed toward his own house?] she inquired via telepathy. Hermione nodded slightly in response, having not learned how to use telepathy yet. Nanoha made a mental note to start training her as soon as they could find time for it. Browsing skeptically through the list of ingredients posted up on the board in the front of the room she inquired, "Hermione, do you know how this all works? I mean obviously these ingredients interact with each other, but what is the magical foundation?"

"I...I don't honestly know," replied Hermione with a slightly troubled expression. "I've tried to research the topic before, but I couldn't find any answers about the underlying mechanics of why the potions work. It seems that we know what attributes certain ingredients and actions contribute and how different potion components interact, but not why they behave the way they do."

[Now we definitely need to bring a bunch of potion ingredients back for Mari to look at,] Nanoha thought to the other two girls. [She'll loooove having jars and bottles of things like eel eye, frog brain, and leech juice in her office.] Both of the others rolled their eyes [What? I think it's important that we help to expand the um…knowledge of… Okay, fine. I just want to see the face she makes when we put the jar of eyeballs on her desk.] Hermione, having had four years to get accustomed to the bizarre nature of potion ingredients simply smiled slightly while Fate took a glance at the ingredients cabinet in the classroom and looked vaguely ill.

"Is something wrong Takamachi, Harlaown?" professor Snape drawled as he approached their table. "Not deigning to work with the first years?"

"Not at all sir," replied Fate, ignoring the implied insult, "we were told by Headmaster Dumbledore that we would be observing rather than participating at this point in time and we do not have the necessary equipment for this class."

"I see. If you so desire, you may borrow a cauldron and participate," he offered in his characteristic sullen tone. He actually seemed taken aback when Nanoha got to her feet, thanked him enthusiastically for the offer, and headed to the supply closet to obtain their ingredients and a cauldron. Fate got to her feet and followed Nanoha after offering Hermione a shrug. "Not going to assist your charges, Miss Granger?" professor Snape inquired after taking a moment to supervise the two visiting students as they set up their cauldron.

"They're both intelligent young women, professor, and they should be quite able to handle themselves in a first year class without my aid. They'll ask if they want my help," Hermione replied.

"Indeed," commented Snape as he observed Nanoha deftly preparing each of the ingredients and carefully laying them out in order as Fate began to carefully concoct the potion. The two seemed to work flawlessly as a team with no communication, Hermione noted. They could have been communicating telepathically, but so far they had opted to communicate verbally with one another unless the situation demanded otherwise. Professor Snape glared at the pair as they prepared their potion before turning abruptly to antagonize other students as he couldn't find any obvious fault in what they were doing.

After a few minutes, Hermione saw Fate draw her wand and wave it over the cauldron, a skeptical expression on her face. The blonde's eyebrow quirked a bit as she saw the potion react to her wand waving and Nanoha smiled in amusement at her friend's puzzlement. The two then checked to make sure the burner was set properly before leaving their potion to simmer for the prescribed time and returning once again to talk to Hermione. Mindful of Professor Snape's close observation, the three had to make sure not to mention anything regarding the TSAB much to Hermione's annoyance.

Nanoha and Fate had Hermione quiz them on potion making knowledge until their potion was ready for the next stages. They had initially tried to assist some of the younger Gryffindors who were having trouble but were reprimanded sharply and lost their house 5 points much to their chagrin. Returning to their cauldron, Nanoha handled adding the ingredients while Fate removed the cauldron from the fire and took care of the required stirring. Neither had said anything, but Fate was sure that Nanoha would tease her later about not wanting to touch the slugs the potion had required. Finally, a few quills, stirs, and a wave of the wand later, their potion was complete and Hermione confirmed for the two visiting students that their end result looked correct. Smiling, Nanoha poured a sample into the vial Hermione supplied them to turn in while Fate began cleaning up their workspace.

Hermione waited patiently as Fate quickly and efficiently cleaned up their workspace and Nanoha trotted up to the front of the room to turn in their vial. Finding that they still had a few minutes of class remaining after cleaning up, Fate and Nanoha returned to having Hermione quiz them on basic potions knowledge. Class soon concluded and the three girls breathed a collective sigh of relief as the left the oppressive atmosphere of the dungeon. They actually felt a bit lighter as they ascended the stairs back up to the main levels of the castle.

They were headed toward the defense classroom when they were intercepted by Professor McGonagall who was rather poorly trying to conceal her annoyance with a hastily plastered on smile. "Ah, Miss Granger," she spoke to Hermione, "I was sent to inform you that the schedule you and your wards will be following for the day has been modified. You will not be observing the first year defense…" she was cut off abruptly by the very squat, pink-clad woman she had been trying to avoid exposing the new students to.

"Hem hem," Umbridge's girlish voice interrupted. "Why Professor McGonagall, what ever do you mean? I was not informed of any changes," the woman announced with a painfully insincere smile. "Encouraging your newest...students to skip their scheduled courses would reflect rather poorly on your house, don't you think?"

"It would," McGonagall replied coolly as she reached into her robe and withdrew a folded parchment which she then handed to the offensive woman. "However, they have been summoned to a meeting with the Headmaster and I for one am not one to question his reasons or timing." She had to force herself not to smile at the chagrined expression which crossed the toad-like woman's features. "Now if you will excuse us, I need to escort these three to the Headmaster's office." Turning abruptly, Professor McGonagall gestured for the three girls to follow her as she led them swiftly away from the stewing Umbridge. As they gained distance the relief flooding off of the elderly professor was almost palpable to the younger women.

The trio of girls were quiet as they followed the assistant Headmistress through the winding corridors toward the Headmaster's office. [Hermione,] Nanoha inquired, [do you have any idea what this is about?] receiving a barely noticeable shake of the head in response, she pouted a little as her mind worked overtime to try to figure out what had prompted the sudden summons. A quick glance to her side informed her that Fate was just as clueless as she, and was likewise running through her own list of possible reasons for being asked to the office. Keeping with their training, both young officers carefully memorized the route they were taking while they continued to wonder what would be awaiting them at their destination.

None of the trio of girls had been able to come to any conclusions regarding the mystery of their sudden summoning by the time they reached the gargoyle that guarded the stairs up to Dumbledore's office. Hermione could plainly see that Nanoha and Fate were nervous about being summoned and tried to give them a reassuring smile only to have her own apprehension sabotage her efforts. Fate and Nanoha watched in fascination as the gargoyle greeted Professor McGonagall and asked for the password. The incredibly life-like golems and other magically animated objects were not something either Nanoha or Fate were extremely familiar with. Sure, Precia had sent golems at them, but those behaved like robots, not living beings.

After being provided the password, the gargoyle allowed them access to the spiral staircase it had been guarding. The stairs moved upwards like an escalator leading the girls to briefly ponder the mechanics of the stairs as they ascended. The stairs came to a halt in front of a wooden door which Professor McGonagall knocked on. "Come in," came the somewhat rusty sounding voice of the Headmaster from inside. Opening the door, Professor McGonagall ushered the three girls into the office and softly shut the door behind them before moving to take a seat beside the Headmaster's desk.

The nervousness among the girls abated somewhat upon their entrance to the cluttered office. Dumbledore's congenial smile helped put the girls at ease the moment they walked in and Nanoha and Fate were intensely fascinated by the curios covering every visible horizontal surface of the office. "Ms. Granger, it is always good to see you. Ms. Takamachi, Ms. Harlaown, it is good to see you looking well rested. I trust your first night in the castle went well?"

"Yes, Headmaster," replied Fate. "The accommodations here are very comfortable."

"I'm glad to hear that you like it here and I hope that you continue to do so," Dumbledore said, earning curious looks from the students for the odd turn at the end. "Lemon drop?" he offered, holding out a small bowl filled with candy. Nanoha and Fate each accepted one of the confections while Hermione politely declined.

"Now," began Dumbledore as he sat behind his desk to face the three girls sitting across from him, "I am sure you are wondering why I've asked you here. I have discussed this issue with Professor McGonagall and we are in agreement that the situation in the school is going to be murky enough as it is with the Ministry's interference. So I must ask you who you really are and who it is that you are working for. You see, there are simply too many unknown variables right now for us to be able to ensure the safety of our students."

Taking a deep breath, Nanoha recited the brief speech she'd been provided for this circumstance. "I am First Lieutenant Nanoha Takamachi of the Time-Space Administration Bureau or TSAB and this is First Lieutenant Fate Testarossa-Harlaown of the same. Our mission here is one of peaceful exploration. I am not permitted to answer any further questions regarding the nature of our organization or mission, however now that you have been informed our commanding officer would like to schedule a meeting with you within the next twelve hours."

Dumbledore nodded. The puzzle pieces were starting to come together now. The girls' military bearing had been explained, and he had a feeling based on the name of their organization and Professor McGonagall's report on their actions in Diagon Alley that their organization was not based on Earth. His reservations about showing his hand by letting them know that he knew they were "exploring" quickly evaporated in the face of the relief that he had made the correct choice in preventing them from attending Umbridge's class. He was somewhat concerned about the lack of any surprise being demonstrated by Hermione however. Additionally the age of the girls coupled with their position as commissioned officers worried him, though he decided he would wait until he met with their commanding officer to inquire about it.

"Forgive my interrupting, but are you saying that this 'TSAB' recruits children as soldiers?" Professor McGonagall cut in, her tone foreboding.

"To be fair, Fate and I were special cases to be recruited as young as we were," Nanoha responded before the Professor could protest further. This was one of the topics Chrono had foreseen arising and had given her permission to divulge some limited information about. "Our military does enlist younger people than would be considered normal on Earth, though it's primarily due to necessity. Powerful mages may become a danger to themselves and those around them without appropriate training and equipment, sometimes beyond even what our schools are able to provide."

"We do not have child soldiers in the same sense that certain regimes on Earth do," Fate added. "It is nearly unheard of for children to be deployed in battle. Youths, if they opt to join the TSAB, are typically given the training they need to be safely in control of their abilities and are allowed to gain experience through peaceful missions such as disaster relief, wildlife rescue, and other types of non-violent military activities if they so desire. Those who do not wish to be in the field are required to complete a brief term of service but will be relegated to clerical work. Those who do join are accorded rank based on their skills and experience just as older service members are."

Dumbledore waited a moment to see if Professor McGonagall would comment further but she held her tongue, her expression still plainly disapproving. "I understand that you must be under orders not to tell me more and so I will not press you as I do not doubt that you will not divulge anything you are not supposed to. Please let your superior know that I would like to meet at his or her earliest convenience."

Nanoha and Fate exchanged a brief glance and shrugged. "Would now be acceptable, Headmaster?" inquired Fate.

Dumbledore considered briefly before replying, "I would like the opportunity to gather some relevant faculty members first. Perhaps immediately following lunch?"

"That should be fine," Nanoha replied after a brief hesitation. "Will we be meeting here?"

"Yes, I think that would be best," Dumbledore stated. "Now run along, you three. I'll see you after lunch." After the three girls had left and the door closed securely behind them, Dumbledore turned to Professor McGonagall, "Hermione didn't seem very surprised at any of those revelations, did she?"

Frowning worriedly she replied, "No, she didn't. She didn't mention anything to me when I spoke to her at breakfast either. What do you suppose that means?"

"Obviously she managed to find out about them on her own, which is not an unexpected outcome. That she didn't let you know makes me think that she was sworn to secrecy, or perhaps that she joined their organization. She hasn't always received the best of treatment from our society and she doesn't have any other organizational ties which would prevent her from doing so. Even though she knows of the Order of the Phoenix, she was not permitted to join due to her young age. She may have joined solely for the new learning opportunities they could offer her."

Professor McGonagall nodded somewhat wearily. While she was careful not to show favoritism in her classes, Hermione was one of her favorite and most promising students. It was galling to her that Hermione would keep such an important development from her. Dumbledore, picking up on her distress, commented, "I am sure that Hermione's options were limited when she found out and she had to make a difficult decision. I am confident enough in her abilities to think she most likely made the best one that she was able to."

"Who will you invite to this meeting?" Professor McGonagall asked, changing the subject.

"Professors Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout," he replied quickly, before adding a moment later, "and I think Professor Vector as well. Her foundation in arithmancy might help us to understand their magic a bit more."

"Are you certain it's wise to have Severus present?"

"I trust him to share only the appropriate information at the proper time."

Hermione led the trio back down the spiral stairs and away from the Headmaster's office. The meeting had left her feeling conflicted, the guilt she had largely managed to suppress started to bubble to the surface again. She knew that the professors must have noticed her lack of surprise at Nanoha's admission that she and Fate were associated with an organization from another world. What must they think of her now? Especially Professor McGonagall, her head of house and favorite instructor besides.

"Hermione?" Fate's soft voice interrupted her thoughts, "are you alright?"

"I'm not sure," Hermione admitted. "I feel conflicted, like I should feel guilty for signing up as a contractor with you. It feels like I'm betraying something."

"I don't think the Professors will hold it against you when they learn about the situation and the choices you were presented at the time. Besides, it doesn't seem like you'll run into any conflicts of interest while you're still attending school here. The Headmaster is the, 'Leader of the Light,' after all, right?" Nanoha reassured her. "Hey, there is still plenty of time before lunch, do you want to find an empty classroom and we can start answering some of those questions I am sure you have been saving up."

Hermione's expression brightened somewhat at the prospect of getting some of her questions answered. She led Nanoha and Fate a short distance to an out of use classroom and led them inside, closing the door behind them and casting a few privacy charms on it just to be on the safe side. She turned when she was done to find Nanoha and Fate already sitting atop two of the desks with a third situated across from them. Hermione took a moment to dust off the desktop before hopping up to sit on it.

"So Hermione, is there anyplace in particular you would like to begin?" asked Fate with a small smile.

"Do you think I can use your kind of magic?" Hermione blurted out without hesitation. It was without a doubt one of the most exciting prospective opportunities she was getting for signing up with the TSAB.

"I knew that would be your first question," replied Nanoha with a wide grin as Fate handed her a Sickle which she quickly pocketed. "The answer is we're not sure yet. We know that you have a linker core and that your type of magic utilizes it in a different way than our own. So we'll have to try it to find out," she said as she pulled a small red jewel on a necklace from her shirt. "Raising Heart, create guest user account, identity Hermione."

Hermione looked surprised when the jewel flashed and replied, "Yes, my master."

"Hermione, this is Raising Heart, she is my device. A device is like a wand for our kind of magic," Nanoha informed her, falling into her teacher voice. "There are several types of devices, but we can go over that later. A device helps to cast your magic and spells by computing the complicated math formulae required in our type of spell casting and can help amplify your magical power. Since Raising Heart is what is called an, 'Intelligent Device,' she also has an AI. Now Hermione, hold Raising Heart in your hand and repeat after me," Nanoha said, handing over the jewel, which Hermione carefully took, her excitement plain on her features. Hermione examined the jewel for a moment, turning it over in her hand before looking to Nanoha for further instructions.

After taking a moment to make sure she remembered all of the words, Nanoha spoke. "I am the one who has been given a mission. Under the contract, release those powers unto me. Winds to the sky, stars to the heavens, and the unyielding soul to this heart! Magic to these hands! Raising Heart, set up!" Nanoha recited Raising Heart's activation aria for the first time in years, pausing periodically to allow Hermione to repeat after her. As her long-time device activated she and Hermione spoke the last sentence simultaneously. There was a brief flash of light blue and Hermione stood before them wearing a barrier jacket which appeared to have been modeled after her school uniform.

Nanoha and Fate both applauded lightly while Hermione looked down at herself and the staff now held in her hand with wonder. Her lips curled up into a wide smile and she bounced on the balls of her feet in excitement. "Raising Heart, what is Hermione's LCT?" Nanoha inquired.

"Linker Core Throughput rating is 736 thousand," Raising Heart replied in her usual mechanical voice.

Nanoha smiled and nodded in approval. "You are pretty powerful. That's on par with some of the elite cadets I have trained."

"If I may ask, what's yours?"

"Mine is 1.56 million and Fate's is 1.62 million. Textbook average on Mid-Childa is 100 thousand, though the actual average is higher than that since each generation seems to be getting a little more powerful. The average Air Force cadet has a rating of about 500-600 thousand. We do not usually use LCT ratings in the military. We have the, 'Mage Rank,' system which gives a letter rating based on combat ability or attack power. Fate and I are both S+," Nanoha informed Hermione in a tone more reminiscent of an instructor giving a lesson than a fellow student.

Hermione did her best to memorize the figures and statistics which were being quoted to her, though they didn't have much meaning to her yet since she had no real standard for comparison. With Nanoha and Fate both being more than fifteen times more powerful than the average mage, she guessed that they were both capable of some pretty incredible magical feats.

After a brief rundown of common commands and spell types as well as a promise to get her a storage device as soon as possible, Hermione was back in her school robes and Raising Heart was back on Nanoha's necklace. Hermione's grin however wasn't going anywhere and she positively glowed with excitement. "So, when I get my own device, will it be able to run those training programs you mentioned?"

"Yes, you will definitely be able to run some beginning training programs. I will make sure that the device gets loaded with some before we get it to you," Nanoha was smiling gleefully at the opportunity to help train a willing recruit. "You can feel free to come to me with any questions you have regarding the scenarios. My normal duty is as a member of the instructor corps so I'm used to helping recruits with training."

"Take it easy on her Nanoha," Fate gently admonished as she gathered her things in preparation to head to lunch. "She is a civilian contractor, not an enlistee. You don't want to scare her off."

"Mou, Fate, I'm not that bad," Nanoha whined, as she returned to her seat on the desk next to Fate.

"If you were not that bad, your recruits wouldn't still call you the White Devil when they talk about you," Fate murmured while they waited, earning a quirked eyebrow from Hermione at the mention of Nanoha's nickname.

"Which recruits would those...um I mean...well, you know recruits. They like to exaggerate sometimes."

"Uh huh...of course they do, Nanoha," Fate responded with a smile as she reached over and patted Nanoha gently on the head while the brunette pouted. Hermione got the distinct feeling that this was a conversation that had occurred before, probably on numerous occasions. She couldn't help but grin a bit at the interplay between the two even as she felt a slight twinge of jealousy in her chest. Hermione would be one of the first to admit that she wasn't incredibly skilled at interpersonal relationships, and she could only hope that one day she might find something similar to the easy relationship the girls in front of her shared.

"I imagine you'd like a brief rundown on some of the happenings in and arounds school before the meeting?" asked Hermione as she did her best to organize her thoughts. Receiving nods of agreement, she took a deep breath and started to speak, trying to touch on as many items as possible while keeping things relatively brief since they didn't have that long before lunch. She began by running through a quick history of her personal experiences, beginning with the day Professor McGonagall had shown up at her home to deliver her Hogwarts letter. She touched on the incident with the troll, the Philosopher's Stone, the Chamber of Secrets, the basilisk, the dementors, Sirius Black, the attack on the Quidditch World Cup, the Triwizard tournament, the return of Voldemort, and the campaign of denial by the ministry. Following the quick history lesson, she covered what she considered to be important information about the government of Wizarding Britain, the leadership, the structure, and the attitudes toward various groups of beings. She concluded with a quick rundown of the important points of the last wizarding war knowing that Voldemort would soon be very relevant to their mission.

Hermione could tell from Nanoha's rather frosty expression that she wasn't happy about what she had heard so far. Fate was far more difficult to read but Hermione imagined her opinions were likely similar to the more emotive girl's. "So," Nanoha began, "The last war lasted over a decade, was fought primarily by a vigilante group, and really only ended due to luck. Key players never got proper trials, no measures were taken to prevent similar scenarios in the future, and the prejudices and policies that led up to the war are still as entrenched as ever." Hermione hesitantly nodded her confirmation. "Hermione, why are you still here? It is clear that there is a distressing lack of competent leadership in this society, not to mention the ingrained views on muggleborns. You are an intelligent young woman, surely you see where this is leading."

"The information given to muggle born witches and wizards when we're introduced to the magical world is definitely sugar coated. If I had been told everything that I now know at the outset I really don't know what I would have chosen. I doubt my parents would have allowed me to attend Hogwarts." Hermione sighed deeply and cradled her head in her hands, "Sometimes, I wish I could leave it behind. I'm terrified of the things I see on the horizon. I'm versed enough in history to see the parallels between where we're heading and any number of historical atrocities. At this point though, I'm already committed. Thanks to last year, I'm strongly connected to Harry in the public mind. I'm a target now, and I think it's safer for me to stay in this world and learn to defend myself." She concluded before adding quietly, "Besides, I can't abandon my friends, they're the only ones I've ever had."

Nanoha stood and made her way to Hermione's side, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, "They are lucky to have you, Hermione. I hope that we may be counted among that select group in the future. I am confident that command will allow us to intervene. Even if we were not worried about the presence of gadget drones on your world, I do not think that they will stand back and allow the slaughter of civilians to occur as seems likely if this Lord Voldemort comes to power again."

"I hope you're right," Hermione sighed as she checked the time before getting to her feet. "Come on, you two, let's get to lunch and then get this meeting over with," she opened the door and led Nanoha and Fate from the room.

A/N: The numerical scale I used is based on the one used briefly in the manga. At the time it's shown, Nanoha has a power level of 1.27 million and Fate has one of 1.43 million. No name was provided for the scale so I made one up. I figured it would be more appropriate to use a scale not based on combat ability since Hermione isn't a soldier. If you'd like me to extemporize on the reason I called the rating a measure of throughput feel free to PM me, it's part of my headcanon regarding the workings of a linker core which may or may not come up again later this story. It wasn't my goal to make Hermione OP, I just used a random number generator since I couldn't decide how much raw power she should have.

A/N 2: Edited the ending of this chapter to properly lead into the next one. Chapter 10 is in progress.


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